Ark. Court Rejects Claim Linking Arc Welding to Claimant's Asthma

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Arkansas Court of Appeals has affirmed a workers' compensation ruling that rejected a sheet metal worker's claim that his exposure to welding fumes caused his asthma. McGinley v. Little Rock Sheet Metal, et al., No. CA07-1196 (Ark. Ct. App.).

The Court of Appeals said in an unpublished opinion on June 4 that there was no reason to overturn the Workers' Compensation Commission's adoption of the opinion of the company's medical expert, who stated that claimant Larry McGinley failed to link his illness to a specific workplace cause.

McGinley sought workers' compensation benefits after being diagnosed …