La. Court Finds Welding Fumes Aggravated but Did Not Cause Lung Injury

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana appellate court has affirmed a worker’s compensation award of limited disability benefits for a pipe fitter who complained that his exposure to welding and other toxic fumes caused his lung condition.

Louisiana’s First Circuit Court of Appeal ruled Sept. 21 that experts for Turner Industries Group LLC offered sufficient evidence that Edward Blake was not exposed to elevated levels of toxic fumes in a closed environment, and that his lung condition returned to its pre-employment clinical state after he left Turner’s employ.

Blake and Turner each appealed from a decision by Louisiana’s Office …