La. Court Rules Pre-1975 Meso Claims Compensable Occupational Injury

NEW ORLEANS -- The Louisiana Supreme Court has resolved a conflict between the state's appellate courts, ruling that mesothelioma is not a compensable occupational disease under the pre-1975 version of the Workers' Compensation Act. Rando v. Anco Insulations Inc., et al., No. 08-C-1163 c/w 08-C-1169 (La. Sup. Ct.).

In the May 22 ruling, the state high court affirmed a verdict entered against two of the plaintiff's employers, further ruling that the trial court did not err when it found the defendants owed the plaintiff a duty to warn.

The court noted that the state's First and Fourth Circuit Courts of …