General Foundry Service v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

Opinion

REYNOSO, J.

Exposure to asbestos in the workplace may cause cancer in a worker after a latency period of 20 to 40 years. The Labor Code contains a five-year statutory limitation on the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board’s (Board) jurisdiction once a date of injury is established for a permanent disability. Thus, if a permanent disability rating takes place too early, an employee with a progressive lung disease such as asbestosis faces the risk of being precluded by the statute of limitations from seeking full compensation for his industrial injury.

A worker’s compensation judge…