Ex Parte Valdez

This is a workers' compensation case brought by the widow and children of an employee who died of lung cancer that the plaintiffs allege was caused by exposure to an occupational hazard. The issues presented by this case are: (1) whether the trial court made sufficient findings of fact to support its judgment denying workers' compensation benefits; and (2) whether that court applied the proper criteria for determining medical causation.

Steven Valdez died of lung cancer on December 1, 1988. Mr. Valdez had been an industrial painter, coater, and sandblaster employed by the defendant, Pen Gulf,…