Opinion ID: 1284637
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: review panel affirms determination of accident

Text: In its cross-appeal to the review panel, Nebraska Boiler assigned that the trial judge erred in determining that Risor's hearing loss was caused by an accident instead of an occupational disease. The review panel recognized that a split of authority existed on the hearing loss issue, but it concluded that the trial judge did not err in evaluating Risor's hearing loss as an accident. Citing Dawes v. Wittrock Sandblasting & Painting, [4] it stated that compensation for repetitive trauma injuries should be tested under the statutory definition of an accident. It also noted that the statutory definition of an occupational disease requires a disease to be `peculiar to a particular trade.' [5] It concluded that applying this requirement is difficult because a wide variety of trades expose workers to repetitive high noise levels.