Wilkins v. J.P. Stevens & Co.

EXUM, Chief Justice.

This is a claim for workers’ compensation benefits based on plaintiff’s contention that he has been rendered totally disabled by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) caused by his long exposure to cotton dust while working for defendant Burlington Industries (Burlington). 1 The evidence before the Industrial Commission (Commission) tended to show that plaintiff’s exposure to cotton dust played no causal role in the development of, but probably aggravated, his COPD. The Commission denied plaintiff’s claim on the ground that his COPD was not an occupational disease…