Appeal of Cote

The claimant, Louis Cote, appeals a decision by the New Hampshire Department of Labor Compensation Appeals Board (the board) that he is ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits pursuant to RSA 281-A:23 (Supp. 1994). The parties dispute whether the claimant suffered a work-related injury in 1985 and, if so, whether this injury engendered his painful back condition in 1990. We reverse and remand.

In 1982, the claimant began working for the respondent, James River Corporation, at its manufacturing plant in Berlin. On February 5, 1985, the claimant was working with a machine that wraps…