Opinion ID: 1964947
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: USX Corporation v. W.C.A.B. (Rich )

Text: Rich began his employment with USX in 1953 as a laborer in various positions at USX's Edgar Thompson steel manufacturing operations. In 1971, he began working as a crane operator at the blast furnace. On August 9, 1995, Rich filed a Claim Petition for workers' compensation benefits against USX, claiming that, as a result of his long-term exposure to occupational noise at the steel mill, he suffered a bilateral hearing loss. At a hearing before the WCJ, Rich testified that, during his work as a crane operator, he encountered loud noises from sirens, horns, steam pipes, and heavy machinery. Rich also stated that USX had not provided earplugs until 1990. Rich acknowledged that his nonoccupational activities and pre-USX employment in the U.S. Army exposed him to loud noises. The WCJ concluded that Rich's military service did not adversely affect his hearing. The WCJ received the deposition testimony of Roger L. Duerksen, M.D., a board-certified otolaryngologist, who testified for Rich. Dr. Duerksen conducted an audiogram of Rich and determined that he had suffered a 30% binaural hearing loss according to the AMA Guides. Dr. Duerksen attributed the entire hearing loss to Rich's long-term exposure to noise at USX. A medical expert hired by USX, Douglas Chen, M.D., presented different results. Dr. Chen, also board certified in otolaryngology, testified in his deposition that an examination of Rich revealed a 20.5% hearing loss, pursuant to the AMA Guides. Dr. Chen attributed 6.8% of his hearing loss to presbycusis and 13.7% of the hearing loss to occupational noise. While recognizing that the AMA Guides make no provision for age-related hearing loss, Dr. Chen relied on ISO 1999 to reach his conclusion. A second witness, James Quealy testified for USX about the level of noise at the steel mill. USX employed Mr. Quealy as an industrial hygienist and environmental health and safety manager. The WCJ discounted Mr. Quealy's testimony about two noise surveys taken at the facility because he failed to demonstrate personal knowledge of the tests. Thus, the WCJ ruled that it could not accept as competent evidence his opinion about the normal working conditions at the Edgar Thompson Works. The WCJ found USX's medical expert, Dr. Chen, more credible than Rich's expert with regard to his level of impairment and concluded that Rich suffered a 20.5% loss of hearing from long-term exposure to hazardous, occupational noise. However, the WCJ rejected Dr. Chen's assertion that there should be any reduction for the natural aging process. The WCJ sustained objections by Rich's counsel, contesting the relevancy of the evidence pertaining to presbycusis. Because Act 1 expressly provides for use of the AMA Guides to determine degree of hearing impairment, without mentioning any other standards; the AMA Guides do not discuss or apply any methodology to factor aging into hearing loss calculations; and the ISO 1999 employs a general statistical formula based only on the age of individuals, the WCJ ruled that it could not consider the effects of presbycusis when evaluating claims of work-related hearing loss. Furthermore, the WCJ noted that Dr. Chen admitted that long-term industrial exposure was the most important cause of Rich's hearing loss. Applying the statutory formula for compensation for occupational hearing loss, the WCJ awarded a benefit of $509.00 per week for 53.3 weeks plus costs and attorney's fees to Rich. USX appealed to the Board, which affirmed, finding support by substantial, competent evidence and finding no error of law. From the denial of appeal by the Board, USX appealed to the Commonwealth Court. In USX Corp. v. W.C.A.B. (Rich), 727 A.2d 165 (Pa.Cmwlth.1999), the Commonwealth Court affirmed the Order of the Board. USX presented one issue to the Commonwealth Court: whether the WCJ erred, as a matter of law, in excluding evidence of hearing loss caused by the aging process. Principal among its assertions, USX argued that Section 306(c)(8)(vi) allows a reduction in liability for hearing loss for any portion that is attributable to nonoccupational causes, including presbycusis. Section 306(c)(8)(vi) provides the following: An employer shall be liable only for the hearing impairment caused by such employer. If previous occupational hearing impairment or hearing impairment from nonoccupational causes is established at or prior to the time of employment, the employer shall not be liable for the hearing impairment so established whether or not compensation has previously been paid or awarded. 77 P.S. § 513(8)(vi). Performing a statutory interpretation of Section 306(c)(8)(vi), the Causation Section of Act 1, the Commonwealth Court reasoned that the legislature never authorized a blanket reduction from a calculation of hearing impairment for every nonoccupational factor. It concluded that the legislature did not intend to vitiate the normal principle that an employer is responsible for a disability caused by a combination of work-related and [nonwork-related] factors if the work-related factors were a substantial contributing factor to the injury even though a claimant may have been more susceptible to that type of injury because of his age or preexisting condition. USX Corp., 727 A.2d at 166. It stated that the phrase at or prior to the time of employment in Section 306(c)(8)(vi) merely demonstrates the legislature's intent to eliminate the application of the last injurious exposure rule in situations where two or more employers were responsible for an employee's hearing impairment. The Commonwealth Court conveyed that prior to Act 1, the last employer who employed an employee, who suffered any work-related injury, including loss of hearing could be liable for the total work-related injury. The Commonwealth Court has explained that the purpose of applying the last injurious exposure rule to hearing loss disabilities was to assure compensation for an injury that usually occurs progressively and stems from cumulative exposure to occupational noise. See Sellari v. W.C.A.B. (NGK Metals), 698 A.2d 1372, 1375 (Pa.Cmwlth.1997); Pittsburgh Press Co. v. W.C.A.B. (Taress), 143 Pa.Cmwlth.609, 600 A.2d 626, 630 (1991). The Commonwealth Court also found that Act 1 lowered a claimant's burden of proof to demonstrate the extent of his hearing loss to receive benefits. Notably, pre-Act 1 Section 306(c)(8) required a claimant to demonstrate, for all practical intents and purposes, complete occupation-caused hearing loss. [12] See W.C.A.B. v. Hartlieb, , 465 Pa. 249, 348 A.2d 746, 748 (1975); Aristech Chemical Corp. v. W.C.A.B. (Keefer), 664 A.2d 686, 687-88 (Pa.Cmwlth.1995), alloc. denied, 543 Pa. 731, 673 A.2d 337 (1996). With the adoption of Act 1, an employer became liable for the specific percentage of hearing loss caused by its work environment. 77 P.S. § 513(8)(i); see Bible v. Commonwealth, Dept. of Labor and Industry, 548 Pa. 247, 696 A.2d 1149, 1151 (1997); cf. NGK Metals Corp. v. W.C.A.B. (Anastasio), 713 A.2d 123, 126 (Pa.Cmwlth.1998). With the inclusion of Section 306(c)(8)(vi), an employer could escape partial or total liability, if it can prove, at or prior to the time of employment, that (1) a previous employer, or (2) a nonoccupational factor, caused some or all of the hearing loss. To support its position that the legislature did not intend to provide a reduction for presbycusis, the Commonwealth Court pointed to the plain language of Act 1 and the legislative history of the 1995 Amendments. The Commonwealth Court determined that the legislature was keenly aware of the potential effect of aging on hearing but, rather than providing for a age-related reduction, it restricted calculations to standards located in the AMA Guides and included a broad-based threshold requiring proof by all claimants of more than a 10% hearing loss before they may receive workers' compensation benefits. See 77 P.S. § 513(8)(iii). [13] In summary, the Commonwealth Court held that, although an employer is generally free to introduce evidence of nonoccupational causes of hearing loss, natural aging based on the ISO 1999 is not a permissible factor for reducing an employer's liability.