Panel Upholds Award to Carpenter Exposed to Silica Dust for Six Days

PORTLAND, Ore. - A workers' compensation appeals panel has upheld a finding that a former carpenter exposed to silica dust over a period of about a week suffered a work-related injury and is entitled to compensation. In the Matter of the Compensation of James Burton, No. 00-09045 (Ore. W.C.B.).

The appellate panel of Oregon reached the determination following an appeal from the claimant's employer, which had initially denied the claim, arguing that claimant James Burton's injury should have been analyzed as an occupational disease by the administrative law judge (ALJ) who awarded him compensation.

Burton worked for the company as …