High Court Split on Whether Worker's Fall Was Idiopathic or Unexplained

Even though there was no definitive evidence that Gale Askins’ irregular heartbeat caused her on-the-job fall, the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed an administrative law judge’s decision to deny her benefits because her medical history supported the notion that the fall and arrhythmia were linked. In Askins v. Kroger, the high court had to decide whether a grocery store employee’s fall in March 2012 was an “idiopathic” or an “unexplained” event. If there was enough information to link the fall to a personal health condition, it would be considered a n...