Claim of Petty v. Dresser Industries
The decedent, a chipper, developed silicosis/pneumoconiosis due to workplace silica exposure and died in May 1997. A Workers’ Compensation Law Judge awarded death benefits to his widow, attributing the death to an occupational disease and ruling that the Special Funds Conservation Committee would reimburse the employer after a 260-week waiting period starting May 14, 1997. The employer and its carrier appealed, contending that under Workers’ Compensation Law § 15 (8) (ee), reimbursement should commence after 104 weeks from July 15, 1993, the date of diagnosis, as this date preceded August 1, 1994. The Workers’ Compensation Board affirmed the 260-week period, noting that no date of disablement was established during the decedent's lifetime, thus making the date of death the trigger for the waiting period, which fell after August 1, 1994. The appellate court affirmed the Board's decision, deferring to its interpretation that the date of death constitutes the date of disablement when no claim for benefits was made during the decedent’s life, leading to the 260-week waiting period.