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Digital EditionKentucky Supreme Court Affirms Jurisdiction in Cross-State Workers’ Comp Case
The Supreme Court of Kentucky has affirmed that the state has jurisdiction over a workers’ compensation claim for hearing loss, even when the employee’s final months of hazardous noise exposure occurred in another state.
In Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance v. Clas Coal Co., Inc., the court’s Oct. 23 decision clarifies how to determine the “date of injury” for cumulative trauma claims that span multiple jurisdictions. The ruling provides crucial guidance for insurers underwriting policies for employers with mobile workforces, emphasizing that the location of the last full year of injurious exposure can be the deciding factor for establishing liability and jurisdiction.
The case involved Troy Stidham, who worked for Clas Coal Company for over 16 years as a shuttle car operator in a Pike County, Kentucky, coal mine. Throughout this period, he was insured under a workers’ compensation policy issued by Kentucky Employers’ Mutual Insurance (KEMI).
When the Kentucky mine closed on Jan. 1, 2020, Stidham continued his employment with Clas Coal, relocating to a mine in Alabama for his final nine months of employment before retiring. In both states, his job duties involved constant exposure to loud industrial noise. Though he began noticing hearing difficulties while still in Kentucky, he was not formally diagnosed with work-related hearing loss until after his retirement.
KEMI, the appellant, argued that Kentucky lacked jurisdiction over the claim. The insurer contended that the date of injury should be considered the employee’s last day of hazardous exposure, which occurred in Alabama, or the date of his official diagnosis, which came after he had ceased working in Kentucky. Under this interpretation, any claim would fall outside of Kentucky’s workers’ compensation system.
In contrast, Stidham asserted that his injury date was his last day of work in Kentucky, where the overwhelming majority of his career-long noise exposure took place.
In its analysis, the Supreme Court focused on a 2018 amendment to Kentucky’s workers’ compensation statute governing hearing loss claims. The court highlighted that the law now creates a rebuttable presumption that liability falls on “the employer with whom the employee was last injuriously exposed to hazardous noise for a minimum duration of one (1) year of employment.”
Because Stidham’s exposure in Alabama lasted only nine months, it did not meet this one-year threshold. The court found that the last employer to meet the statutory requirement was Clas Coal during Stidham’s employment in Kentucky. The court also gave significant weight to the factual findings of the Administrative Law Judge, which were supported by medical expert testimony that the nine months of exposure in Alabama were “inconsequential” to the overall hearing loss.
The Supreme Court of Kentucky ultimately affirmed the lower court decisions, establishing the date of injury as January 1, 2020—Stidham’s last day of work in Kentucky. This finding confirmed that Kentucky has jurisdiction over the claim. Consequently, KEMI, as the carrier on the risk for Clas Coal on that date, was held liable for paying the workers’ compensation benefits for Stidham’s hearing loss.
View the full decision here. &
