The Connecticut Appellate Court has reinstated a lower judge’s decision denying workers’ compensation death benefits to the widow of an East Hartford police officer who died by suicide, reversing an earlier ruling by the state’s Compensation Review Board.
The decision, released July 15, 2025, is a closely watched development for workers’ compensation insurers and municipal risk managers navigating mental health claims tied to high-stress professions.
At the center of the case is Patricia Buchanan, who filed for survivor benefits after her husband, Officer Paul Buchanan, died by suicide in 2013. He had used his service weapon while at work and left notes referring to his long battle with depression and recent workplace stress.
Patricia Buchanan claimed her husband’s death stemmed from post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by his years on the force and aggravated by a traumatic fire incident he responded to shortly before his death. Initially, a workers’ compensation judge denied her claim, concluding that the officer’s suicide was primarily the result of longstanding depression unrelated to any work-related injury.
The judge had weighed medical testimony from several experts, ultimately finding most persuasive the opinion of a forensic psychiatrist who testified that Buchanan’s suicide was not caused by work-related PTSD but by a history of major depressive disorder and issues managing psychiatric medications. That decision was appealed by the widow and reversed by the Compensation Review Board in 2023, which found inconsistencies in the judge’s reasoning and determined that Buchanan's suicide was a physical injury that occurred during work and therefore compensable.
But the appellate court rejected that reasoning, stating that the Board overstepped by reinterpreting the facts and substituting its judgment for that of the original judge – something it is not permitted to do.
The case highlights a growing challenge for workers' compensation insurers: navigating claims where mental health is the primary factor, particularly in law enforcement and other high-stress professions.
Importantly, Connecticut law requires that mental health injuries like PTSD be directly linked to a physical injury or classified as an occupational disease to be compensable. The court agreed with the original judge that Buchanan’s PTSD, though work-related, did not cause his death and that the physical effects from the fire incident – such as smoke inhalation – did not aggravate his mental state in a way that led to his suicide.
For carriers and employers, especially those covering first responders, the decision reinforces the importance of detailed medical documentation and expert evaluations in mental health claims. It also clarifies how Connecticut courts view the limits of compensability in suicide cases under the Workers’ Compensation Act.
The case now heads back to the Compensation Review Board with clear instructions to affirm the judge’s original denial of benefits.
