By: Tyler Jones, Esq.

With injuries such as mesothelioma and other long term “occupational disease” injuries, it can be difficult to pinpoint when and where a potentially compensable injury may have originated for purposes of a workers’ compensation claim. Even if the facts dictate that an injury or condition was likely caused by on-the-job exposure to a substance, determining a date of injury requires engaging in some legal fiction because there often is not a clear moment in time when the injury “occurred” such as in a slip and fall. However, beyond the issue with timing, there can also be an inherent difficulty in determining where an occupational disease-type injury occurred, which can affect jurisdiction.

The Georgia Court of Appeals recently addressed such a jurisdictional issue in Davis v. Louisiana-Pacific Corp. Here, John Davis was an Alabama resident and employee of Louisiana-Pacific at an Alabama facility beginning in 1984. He worked for 14 years before resigning voluntarily in 1998 and moving permanently to Georgia. In May 2015, 17 years after his move to Georgia, he was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which his doctors related to exposure to asbestos while working for Louisiana-Pacific. Davis brought a claim for workers’ compensation benefits in Georgia but died the following month. His surviving spouse filed a claim for death and dependency benefits arguing that the State Board of Workers’ Compensation has “jurisdiction over all work-related injuries and deaths that occur in Georgia.” Mrs. Davis argued that the work injury “occurred” when her husband was diagnosed and became disabled, which occurred in Georgia.

In discussing whether or not the Board would have jurisdiction over such a claim, the Court of Appeals looked instead to O.C.G.A. § 34-9-242, which covers payment of compensation for work injuries, and found that an employee is not entitled to compensation if the contract for employment was expressly for service exclusively outside of Georgia. So, if the “accident” occurred in Alabama, then Mr. Davis would not be covered under Georgia’s Act. Notably, the Court found that even though the injury did not technically exist until his mesothelioma diagnosis in 2015 in Georgia, the “accident” that caused it was the exposure to asbestos that occurred exclusively in Alabama. That coupled with the fact that the employment occurred exclusively within Alabama led the Court of Appeals to confirm the Georgia claim could not proceed.

When and where occupational disease injuries “occur” is often open to interpretation but it is important to review specific facts early in the claim to determine whether the Board even has jurisdiction to hear a case if the exposure occurred out of state.