Claim of Pacatte v. SUNY Cobleskill

James Pacatte (hereinafter decedent) was employed as a maintenance supervisor and died as the result of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer in 2007. Claimant, decedent’s wife, filed the present claim for workers’ compensation death benefits, asserting that his lung conditions resulted from exposure to asbestos and other substances in the course of his employment. At the ensuing prehearing conference, claimant’s attorney alleged that she had not been served with the prehearing conference statement of the employer and its workers’ compensation carrier (hereinafter collectively…