Sandblaster Entitled to Medical Benefits for Silicosis, Despite Lack of Disability

BATON ROUGE, La. - A former sandblaster who was diagnosed with silicosis but was never found disabled as a result of the disease may still receive an award of medical benefits from his former employer, a Louisiana appeals court has ruled. Mitchell v. Gaylord Container, No. 2003 CA 2762 (La. Ct. App., 1st Cir.).

In a decision issued Oct. 29, the First Circuit Louisiana Court of Appeal reversed a decision by a state workers' compensation judge who denied benefits to Leslie Mitchell after finding that Mitchell failed to prove he was disabled by silicosis.

Mitchell worked for seven years on …