Docket Number: 10002490-2005

EMPLOYEE: [Name Deleted]

 

CLAIMANT: [Name Deleted]

 

FILE NUMBER: [Number Deleted]

 

DOCKET NUMBER: 10002490-2005

 

DECISION DATE: July 8, 2005

 

 

FINAL DECISION FOLLOWING

A REVIEW OF THE WRITTEN RECORD

 

This is a decision of the Final Adjudication Branch concerning your claim for compensation under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as amended. 42 U.S.C. § 7384 et seq. For the reasons set forth below, your claim is accepted in part and deferred in part. Since you submitted a letter of objection, but did not specifically request a hearing, a review of the written record was performed, in accordance with the implementing regulations. 20 C.F.R. § 30.312.

 

A claimant who receives a recommended denial from the district office is entitled to file objections to the decision, in accordance with the implementing regulations. 20 C.F.R. § 30.310. In reviewing any objections submitted, the Final Adjudication Branch will review the written record, any additional evidence or argument submitted by the claimant, and conduct any additional investigation determined to be warranted in the case.

 

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

 

On December 16, 2001, according to the Paducah Resource Center, you filed a Claim for Benefits under the EEOICPA, for beryllium sensitivity, chronic beryllium disease, brain tumor, bronchitis, and pneumonia. On the Form EE-3, Employment History, you stated you were employed as a senior lab analyst by Union Carbide and Martin Marietta at the gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky, for the period of January 7, 1975 to January 19, 1986. The evidence of record establishes you worked for Union Carbide and Martin Marietta at the gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky, for the period of January 7, 1975 to January 19, 1986.

 

A previous Final Decision was issued by the Department of Labor on May 29, 2002, denying your claim for compensation because you did not provide medical evidence sufficient to establish a diagnosis of an occupational illness under the Act. 42 U.S.C. § 7384l(15).

 

You submitted medical evidence establishing you were diagnosed with bronchitis and pneumonia. A Physicians Panel review under former Part D of the Act has been completed. The Secretary of Energy accepted the Panel’s affirmative determination that your bronchitis and pneumonia were due to exposure to a toxic substance at a DOE facility. This supports a finding that you contracted your illnesses through your exposure to a toxic substance at the gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky, a DOE facility. 42 U.S.C. § 7385s-4(b). On September 28, 2004, the DOE advised you of the Panel’s affirmative determination.

 

On January 31, 2005, you were contacted by the Jacksonville district office and requested to provide additional information. You indicated that you had not received any settlement or award from a lawsuit or workers’ compensation claim in connection with the accepted condition.

 

On March 7, 2005, the Jacksonville district office issued a recommended decision concluding that you are entitled to medical benefits for bronchitis and pneumonia beginning December 16, 2001.

 

Attached to the recommended decision was a notice of claimant rights, which stated that you had 60 days in which to file an objection to the recommended decision and/or request a hearing. These 60 days expired on May 6, 2005. On April 8, 2005, the Final Adjudication Branch received your letter of objection dated March 29, 2005.

 

OBJECTIONS

 

In the letter of objection, you stated that you agreed with the positive determination for bronchitis and pneumonia but disagreed with the negative determination for brain tumor. However, the recommended decision did not address your claim for brain tumor and noted that conditions not accepted by the physicians’ panel will be deferred for additional development. The information you submitted will be included in your case file for future reference during development and adjudication of any additional entitlement.

 

FINDINGS OF FACT

 

1. On December 16, 2001, you filed a Form EE-1, Claim for Benefits under the EEOICPA, for beryllium sensitivity, chronic beryllium disease, brain tumor, bronchitis, and pneumonia.

 

2. The evidence of record establishes you worked for Union Carbide and Martin Marietta at the gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky, for the period of January 7, 1975 to January 19, 1986.

 

3. You submitted medical evidence establishing you were diagnosed with bronchitis and pneumonia. A Physicians Panel review under former Part D of the Act has been completed. The Secretary of Energy accepted the Panel’s affirmative determination that your bronchitis and pneumonia were due to exposure to a toxic substance at a DOE facility. This supports a finding that you contracted your illnesses through your exposure to a toxic substance at the gaseous diffusion plant in Paducah, Kentucky, a DOE facility. On September 28, 2004, the DOE advised you of the Panel’s affirmative determination.

 

4. You indicated that you had not received any settlement or award from a lawsuit or workers’ compensation claim in connection with the accepted condition.

 

5. On March 7, 2005 the Jacksonville district office issued a recommended decision.

 

6. On April 8, 2005, the Final Adjudication Branch received your letter of objection dated March 29, 2005. The objections are insufficient to warrant a change to the recommended decision.

 

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

 

The undersigned has reviewed the record, the recommended decision issued by the Jacksonville district office on March 7, 2005, and the subsequently submitted objections. I find that the decision of the Jacksonville district office is supported by the evidence and the law, and cannot be changed.

 

The Final Adjudication Branch has reviewed the record and the recommended decision of March 7, 2005 and concludes that you were a DOE contractor employee with bronchitis and pneumonia due to exposure to a toxic substance at a DOE facility. 42 U.S.C. §§ 7385s(1), 7385s-4. Therefore, the Final Adjudication Branch hereby concludes that you are entitled to medical benefits for bronchitis and pneumonia effective December 16, 2001. 42 U.S.C. § 7385s-8.

 

Jacksonville, FL

 

 

 

 

Sidne M. Valdivieso

Hearing Representative