Docket Number: 10001639-2005

NOTICE OF FINAL DECISION

This decision of the Final Adjudication Branch (FAB) concerns your claim for survivor compensation benefits under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 7384 et seq. (EEOICPA). Your claim is approved for compensation in the amount of $125,000.00.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

On April 7, 2005, the Final Adjudication Branch issued a Notice of Final Decision during the Interim Administration Period. Based on your confirmed employment with Union Carbide and Martin Marietta Energy Systems at the Y-12 Plant from April 24, 1967 to July 31, 1994, and a positive determination for asbestosis by a panel accepted by the Secretary of Energy under former Part D, the FAB found you to be a “covered DOE contractor employee.” As such, the FAB awarded you medical benefits for asbestosis and asbestos related lung disease beginning on your March 17, 2003 filing date and deferred adjudication for wage loss and/or impairment.

You submitted an impairment evaluation, dated August 3, 2005, from Dr. Angelisa Janssen who found a 50% impairment rating due to your respiratory disease. To determine your “minimum impairment rating” (the percentage rating representing the extent of whole person impairment, based on the organ and body functions affected by the covered condition and the extent of the impairment attributable to your covered condition), your case was referred for review to a Department of Labor Medical Consultant, Dr. Sylvie Cohen. Dr. Cohen used the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment and opined that you have a class 3 impairment classification with a range of 26-50% impairment. See AMA’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (5^th Edit. 2005) tables 5-12. Dr. Cohen calculated your minimum impairment rating to be 50%, all of which is attributed to the accepted covered condition, asbestosis.

On September 23, 2005, the district office issued a recommended decision finding that you are entitled to $2,500 for each of the 50 percentage points Dr. Cohen found to be a result of the accepted covered illness. As such the district office concluded that you are entitled to compensation in the amount of $125,000.00 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7385s-2(a)(1).

On September 28, 2005, the FAB received written notification that you waive any and all objections to the September 23, 2005 recommended decision.

After considering the evidence of record and your waiver of objections, the FAB hereby makes the following:

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. A final decision was issued by the Department of Labor under § 7385s of the Act on April 7, 2005, concluding that you are a covered DOE contractor employee and awarded you medical benefits for asbestosis commencing on your March 17, 2003 filing date.

2. Based on the 5^th edition of the AMA’s Guides, your minimum impairment rating for asbestosis is calculated to be 50%.

3. You confirmed in writing that you never received any settlement or award from a lawsuit or workers’ compensation claim in connection with the accepted condition.

Based on the above noted findings of fact, the FAB hereby also makes the following:

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

The Final Adjudication Branch hereby finds that you have been determined to have an impairment that is the result of the accepted covered illness, asbestosis, and that your minimum impairment rating is calculated to be 50%. The FAB further finds that you are entitled to $2,500 for each percentage point (50) of your minimum impairment rating attributed to the accepted condition amounting to $125,000.00. Therefore, the Final Adjudication Branch hereby concludes that you are entitled to compensation for impairment in the amount of $125,000.00 pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7382s-2(a)(1)(A) and (B).

Washington, DC

David E. Benedict

Hearing Representative

Final Adjudication Branch