State ex rel. Lemke v. Wellman, Inc.

Under R.C. 4123.61, permanent total disability compensation (“PTD”) for an occupational disease must be based on the employee’s average weekly wage (“AWW”) for the year before the disability began, unless “special circumstances” justify another basis. Appellant, Industrial Commission of Ohio, calculated appellee Galen Lemke’s PTD based on his AWW in 1969, the year before he was diagnosed with berylliosis. In this appeal as of right, Lemke contends that the commission’s order is substantially unjust because he continued to work, despite significant permanent partial impairment from the…