W.Va. Court: Sufficient Causal Link Between CML and Benzene Exposure

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has reversed a decision denying workers' compensation benefits to a former mechanic, concluding that there was sufficient evidence linking the decedent's chronic myelogenous leukemia to his benzene exposure. Casdorph, v. West Virginia Office Insurance Commissioner, et al., No. 34473 (W.Va. Sup. Ct. App.).

In its Nov. 19 opinion, the state's high court said that although the case studies linking CML to benzene exposure are "small," they are "valid studies that have been peer reviewed and published."

According to the high court, the Workers' Compensation Commission declined the claim of Robert …