Truck driver Curtis Marvel suffered a heart attack while securing steel coils to his flat bad trailer back in 2011. He had a stent placed in one of his coronary arteries and was released after five days in the hospital.

Upon release, the company he worked for, Roane Transportation Services out of Rose Bud, Illinois, informed him that he was now “medically unable” to continue driving a truck for them.

To make matters worse, the company denied Marvel’s claim for workers comp benefits, stating that his heart attack was not a work related injury.

In 2012, Marvel filed a complain against Roane Transportation, seeking the workers comp that was denied by the company. He testified that he hasn’t worked since the heart attack, and still experiences pain in his chest, legs and arms.

In the court hearing, it was determined that the stress of driving a semi truck was partially to blame for his heart attack. BusinessInsurance.com, reported:

A cardiologist who examined Mr. Marvel in January 2013 at the request of the claimant’s attorney said there was no way to determine, “within a reasonable degree of medical certainty,” whether Mr. Marvel’s physical exertion on Oct. 21, 2011 precipitated the heart attack, records show. He noted that the “emotional stress of driving a large truck while experiencing chest pains could have accelerated the onset of (his) heart attack.”

The court sided with Marvel and ordered Roane Transportation to pay the workers comp.

The company appealed the decision, however last Thursday, the Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel affirmed the original court decision.