Knight v. Cannon Mills Co.

BECTON, Judge.

This appeal is from a denial of workers’ compensation benefits claimed by Barney E. Knight under N.C. Gen. Stat. Sec. 97-53(13) (1985).

I

Barney Knight is in his late fifties. His formal education ended after the first grade; he cannot read, write, or sign his name; and he does not know his date of birth. The precise history of his employment is the subject of some dispute, but all parties agree that he worked on and off in the textile industry until 16 March 1981 when he last worked for defendant Cannon Mills.

Knight has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease which, according to…