Employer, Not Fund, Responsible for Widow's Asbestos-Related Death Benefits

MADISON, Wis. - An appeals court in Wisconsin has held that the widow of a former International Paper Co. employee is entitled to workers' compensation benefits paid by her husband's former employer, not the state's Work Injury Supplemental Benefit Fund. International Paper Company, et al. v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, No. 01-0126 (Wisc. Ct. App., Dist. Three).

The court said in its Sept. 25 opinion that Lorraine Wieseler is entitled to company-paid benefits because she filed her claim within 12 years of her husband's death, which was attributed to asbestos-related mesothelioma.

An administrative judge had previously ruled that Wieseler …