Judge Correctly Weighed Evidence of Alleged Silicosis-Related Death, Court Says

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A state appeals court in Pennsylvania has determined that the widow of a former brick manufacturer who died of lung disease, allegedly as a result of his exposure to silica, failed to demonstrate that he was disabled from an occupationally acquired disease. McCloskey v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board, No. 203 CD 2002 (Pa. Comm. Ct.).

In a decision affirming the opinion of a state workers' compensation judge, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled Aug. 2 that the judge was well within his authority to deny the widow's claim for damages based on expert analysis of Claude McClosky's autopsy …