D.C. Court Rules Claim Was Timely, Affirms Workers' Compensation Benefits

WASHINGTON -- A Court of Appeals has affirmed workers' compensation benefits to a mesothelioma claimant, rejecting her employer's contention that the woman's claims were untimely. Washington Hospital Center v. District of Columbia Department of Employment Services, No. 03-AA-822 (D.C. Ct. App.).

In an Oct. 7 opinion, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals found that although doctors informed claimant Anita Jones that asbestos is a cause of mesothelioma, the claimant was not put on notice of the potential cause of her injury until her employer released documents identifying the existence of asbestos in Jones' workplace.

Jones sought workers' compensation benefits, …