West Virginia Court Upholds Denial of Benefits in Asbestos Lung Cancer Case

CHARLESTON, W.Va. –– A West Virginia appellate court has affirmed the denial of benefits to the widow of a former crane and furnace operator, agreeing with the Workers’ Compensation Office that there was not enough evidence linking the decedent’s lung cancer to asbestos exposure.

In the Jan. 16 order, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals cited expert testimony and evidence from CT exams demonstrating that the decedent had subpleural fat as opposed to asbestos lung disease.

The workers’ compensation claims were asserted on behalf of James R. Hill, who was employed by Huntington Alloys Corp. as a crane …