Injured Metal Worker Fails in Bid for Statutory Award for Employer’s Alleged Safety Violations

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio’s Supreme Court has ruled 6-1 that a worker already receiving benefits for injuries related to metal dust exposure failed to prove that toxic substances were present at levels that would trigger an augmented award for safety violations.

The court majority concluded June 18 that an intermediate appellate court did not abuse its discretion in accepting post-injury air quality test results as reliable and denying Troy A. Scott’s application for a writ of mandamus requiring the additional benefits.

The parties did not dispute that Scott developed hard-metal pneumoconiosis and an open-wound nasal disorder from exposure to dust …