Whittaker v. Hurst

OPINION OF THE COURT

This workers’ compensation appeal concerns a matter of first impression: whether a worker who sought to reopen an award of income benefits for coal workers’ pneumoconiosis was required to offer evidence of both a progression of the disease and a progression of respiratory impairment. KRS 342.125(2)(a).

The claimant was last exposed to coal dust on February 16,1994. Shortly thereafter, he filed a claim in which he sought benefits for coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. The claim alleged more than 20 years of exposure with multiple employers.

The claimant reached an agreement with…