N.C. Court Says Industrial Commission Used Wrong Standard for Determining Last Date of Injurious Exposure

RALEIGH, N.C. –– A North Carolina appellate court has reversed a determination of benefits in an asbestos workers’ compensation case, finding the Full Commission erred when determining which insurer was responsible for paying benefits to an asbestos claimant.

In the May 21 opinion, the North Carolina Court of Appeals found that the Commission incorrectly used the standard for asbestosis, instead of mesothelioma, cases when determining the plaintiff’s last injurious exposure.

James Norman Richardson filed a claim with the Industrial Commission, contending that while employed by PCS Phosphate Company Inc., he was exposed to asbestos. As a result of the exposure, …