Hartford, Travelers, Argonaut
Release Date Jan 7 2020 (Accident date June 27, 2014)
Venue: St. Louis
Plot summary: Claimant worked as a hairdresser for 47 years and alleged mesothelioma developed as a result of exposure to hair dryers prior to 1979. The commission affirms the denial based on insufficient proof of the burden of persuasion.
https://labor.mo.gov/sites/labor/files/decisions_wc/HaydenMarc14-10307701-07-20.pdf
Cast:
Landolt, ALJ
Reynolds
Godsey
Taylor
Hyers
Barkman
Memorable Quotes
The ALJ denied benefits: "I find Employee failed to meet his burden of proof regarding medical causation and, therefore, the Claim must be denied. I find Employee was not employed in an occupation or process in which the hazards of an occupational disease due to toxic exposure existed. ..." Dr. Hyers' opinion fails because it is based upon the assumption that Employee was exposed to asbestos throughout his career as a hairdresser, and those assertions were not proved."
The Commission noted: " Pursuant to Vickers and Smith, an employee need not provide evidence of a specific or actual exposure to an injurious agent at work to meet his or her burden of production. By extension, a fact-finder who misapprehends the employee's burden of production (e.g., by suggesting that an employee must identify a particular, specific exposure to the claimed source of injury) may render his or her own fact findings subject to reversible legal error, as demonstrated in both Vickers and Smith."
The commission noted a lack of authority to the requisite proof of exposure in a post-reform case and appears to disavow reliance on a pre-reform "recognizable link" standard. It concluded claimant met his burden of production but not the burden of persuasion.
