Commonwealth Court Holds on Appeal Substantial and Competent Evidence Needed to Support Fatal Claim
In Patton v. WCAB (Lane Enterprises, Inc.), 2623 C.D. 2007, filed October 22, 2008, the Commonwealth Court held on appeal that workers' compensation judge's determination that the decedent claimant did not suffer from an occupational disease was supported by substantial and competent evidence. This is because the workers' compensation judge credited the employer's medical witnesses and rejected the assertion that the claimant suffered from an occupational disease.
In fatal claims, while a death certificate is admissible as proof, it is not conclusive proof for both the fact and cause of death. As the Court found, the claimant failed to establish her entitlement to the rebuttable presumption that her husband was employed in an occupation or industry in which the occupational disease was a hazard.
