Wells v. Hamilton

GUDGEL, Judge:

The issue in this appeal is whether the Workers’ Compensation Board was entitled to rely on the presumptions set forth in KRS 342.316(2)(b)(2) and KRS 342.316(5) in making a finding of fact that a worker suffers from the occupational disease of pneumoconiosis when the employer had introduced medical evidence to rebut those presumptions. We are of the opinion that, when the employer and the Special Fund introduce probative medical evidence that the worker does not suffer from the disease, the Board is not entitled to rely on the statutory presumptions. Hence, we reverse the order…