Abstract

Comment: Worker's Compensation
In Ford v. Industrial Comm'n of Arizona, the Arizona Supreme Court addressed the occupational disease provisions of the Arizona Workers' Compensation Act. The court held that where an occupational disease caused the claimant's injury, the claimant must proceed under the special provisions of the Act pertaining to occupational disease. The claimant need not establish that the industrial exposure was the sole cause of the disability. Further, the court held that the Arizona Constitution mandates benefits for occupational disease as well as for injury by work-related accident, and that an Act of the legislature cannot reduce these benefits.

This Casenote will examine the Ford decision in light of the increasing incidence of occupational disease and the current underutilization of the occupational disease compensation system. It will focus on the causes of this underutilization, including the difficulty of proving an occupational disease claim because of factors such as latency and multiple causation. It will also comment on the effect of Ford on the ability of the workers' compensation system to fairly compensate victims of occupational disease. By grounding occupational disease benefits in the constitution and recognizing that industrial exposure need not be the sole cause of disability, the supreme court has established a foundation upon which an equitable system of compensating victims of occupational disease may be built.

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