Opinion ID: 1964947
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: LTV Steel Company, Inc. v. W.C.A.B. (Mozena )

Text: From 1957 to the present, Mozena has worked at the same steel plant in Aliquippa. He began his employment as a laborer with Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation (J & L) and advanced to millwright. By 1974, LTV Corporation, a Dallas-based holding company, had acquired 100% of the stock of J & L, at which time LTV merged J & L into its operations, making J & L a wholly owned subsidiary of LTV. LTV acquired Youngstown Sheet and Tube Steel Company (Youngstown) in 1978 and merged it with J & L in 1981. In 1981, LTV purchased Republic Steel (Republic) and merged it with J & L, amassing all assets in the present name of LTV Steel Company. On August 21, 1995, Mozena filed a Claim Petition for Workers' Compensation benefits, alleging that, in the course of his employment, he suffered a bilateral hearing loss from his long-term exposure to occupational noise at the Aliquippa plant. At the claim petition hearing before a WCJ, he specifically claimed that loud, continuous noise from heavy machinery, metal impacts, and furnace blasts caused his hearing loss. He denied having any exposure to nonoccupational hazardous noise. He also testified that he wore earplugs from the day he began work with J & L. The WCJ found the testimony of Mozena to be credible. Mozena also presented the deposition testimony of Michael Bell, M.D., board certified in otolaryngology, [1] who opined about the extent of Mozena's hearing loss. The results of audiometric testing [2] led Dr. Bell to conclude that Mozena had suffered a binaural hearing loss of 26.56% from work-related causes. Dr. Bell based his finding on the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 4 th Edition (June 1993) (AMA Guides), [3] as required by Section 306(c)(8)(i) of the Workers' Compensation Act (Act) to calculate hearing loss. [4] At the hearing, LTV introduced the deposition testimony of its own medical expert, Sidney Busis, M.D., a board certified otolaryngologist. Dr. Busis also conducted an audiogram [5] on Mozena and concluded that he suffered a binaural hearing loss of 23.4%. However, Dr. Busis ascribed 8.11% of Mozena's hearing loss to the aging process, referred to as presbycusis. [6] Dr. Busis determined that he could attribute only 15.31% of the hearing loss to other causes, such as work-related factors. To obtain the percentage that he claimed was caused by presbycusis, Dr. Busis relied on the International Standard 1999 of the International Organization for Standardization [7] (ISO 1999). [8] LTV introduced the deposition transcript of a second witness, attorney Mark Katz, to prove that LTV was not Mozena's employer for all relevant years. Mr. Katz is a senior attorney for LTV, who is familiar with the corporate structure and history of LTV. Through the testimony of Mr. Katz, LTV intended to show that from 1957 to 1973 Mozena worked for J & L and, thus, LTV was not liable for any pre-1974 injury, which Mozena had not already claimed. However, Mr. Katz conceded that, through stock sales, which resulted in the total purchase of J & L in 1974, LTV assumed all assets and liabilities of J & L, including all workers' compensation claims existing prior to 1974. The WCJ found the medical expert for Mozena, Dr. Bell, more credible than Dr. Busis and ascertained that Mozena suffered a 26.56% hearing loss caused by long-term exposure to hazardous occupational noise. LTV received no credit for any age-related hearing loss. The WCJ also concluded that Mozena had worked for LTV from 1957 to the present because LTV had assumed the liabilities of all its constituent companies through merger. Based on the formula set forth in Section 306(8)(i) of the Act, the WCJ awarded Mozena a benefit of $509.00 per week for 68.9 weeks, plus costs and attorney's fees. [9] See 77 P.S. § 513(8)(i). LTV appealed to the Board raising several claims, including various allegations of error of law and insufficiency of evidence. The Board affirmed the decision of the WCJ and stated that the findings of the WCJ were supported by substantial, competent evidence and that the judge committed no errors of law. LTV filed a timely appeal to the Commonwealth Court, raising four issues: [10] (1) it claimed that the WCJ erred by finding it liable for any of Mozena's hearing loss that occurred before 1974; (2) LTV claimed the WCJ erred by not allowing its expert to provide testimony concerning the effect of aging on hearing loss; [11] (3) it reiterated a procedural claim it raised before the Board, notably, that because Mozena admitted that he knew of some hearing loss since 1988, the Act, 77 P.S. § 631, barred his claim petition for his failure to notify LTV within 120 days of the injury; and (4) it was reversible error for the WCJ to render a decision without ascertaining a specific date of injury. The Commonwealth Court affirmed the Order of the Board. LTV Steel, Inc. v. W.C.A.B. (Mozena), 727 A.2d 160 (Pa.Cmwlth.1999). Relying largely on its decision in USX Corp. v. W.C.A.B. (Rich), 727 A.2d 165 (Pa.Cmwlth.1999), the Commonwealth Court held that the AMA Guides did not allow a reduction in benefits for hearing loss caused by the aging process. Also, finding substantial evidence that LTV, as successor-in-interest to J & L, had assumed all liability for the hearing loss of Mozena since he began working at the Aliquippa plant in 1957, the Commonwealth Court rejected LTV's second assertion that it was only responsible for injuries occurring after 1973.