Gordon Conley was a chemical plant operator and electrician for Union Carbide for 37 years, during which he was exposed to asbestos dust and fibers.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gordon Conley was a chemical plant operator and electrician for Union Carbide for 37 years, during which he was exposed to asbestos dust and fibers.
Today, Conley, is terminally ill from malignant mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
He's been awarded a substantial sum in compensation for his workplace-related disease, but he might not live long enough to see it.
Wells Fargo Disability Management, a third-party administrator that handles work injury claims in West Virginia, plans to pay Conley, 85, his award over a period of several years. The problem with that, said Conley's lawyer, E. William Harvit of Charleston, is this: People diagnosed with mesothelioma often live for only a few months.
"Instead of paying Mr. Conley a lump sum -- which could legally be done -- he is receiving a small amount on a monthly basis," Harvit said. "At this pace, it is likely that he will only collect a very small portion of his award.
The West Virginia Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board confirmed Conley's diagnosis on Oct. 16, 2008, making him eligible for permanent disability payments.
In January, Harvit asked Wells Fargo to pay Conley in one lump sum, but Wells Fargo did not respond to Harvit's original request for three months.
An April 10 memo from Claims Consultant Anne Cecil to Harvit stated: "Your request has been forwarded to the Office of the Insurance Commission, and is currently under review. We will contact you as soon as we receive their decision in this matter."
Harvit asked Wells Fargo about the case again in a July 2 letter. No one responded.
When dealing with a dying client, he said, justice delayed is justice denied.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gordon Conley was a chemical plant operator and electrician for Union Carbide for 37 years, during which he was exposed to asbestos dust and fibers.
Today, Conley, is terminally ill from malignant mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure.
He's been awarded a substantial sum in compensation for his workplace-related disease, but he might not live long enough to see it.
Wells Fargo Disability Management, a third-party administrator that handles work injury claims in West Virginia, plans to pay Conley, 85, his award over a period of several years. The problem with that, said Conley's lawyer, E. William Harvit of Charleston, is this: People diagnosed with mesothelioma often live for only a few months.
"Instead of paying Mr. Conley a lump sum -- which could legally be done -- he is receiving a small amount on a monthly basis," Harvit said. "At this pace, it is likely that he will only collect a very small portion of his award.
The West Virginia Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board confirmed Conley's diagnosis on Oct. 16, 2008, making him eligible for permanent disability payments.
In January, Harvit asked Wells Fargo to pay Conley in one lump sum, but Wells Fargo did not respond to Harvit's original request for three months.
An April 10 memo from Claims Consultant Anne Cecil to Harvit stated: "Your request has been forwarded to the Office of the Insurance Commission, and is currently under review. We will contact you as soon as we receive their decision in this matter."
Harvit asked Wells Fargo about the case again in a July 2 letter. No one responded.
When dealing with a dying client, he said, justice delayed is justice denied.
"The legislative purpose of enacting Workers' Compensation was to provide prompt and fair compensation to workers for injuries and diseases which occurred as a direct result of their employment," Harvit said on Friday. "In this case, the purpose of Workers' Compensation is not being fulfilled. Mesothelioma is fatal, and most people do not live very long with the disease."
Typically, mesothelioma symptoms appear between 20 and 50 years after exposure to asbestos.
Harvit said the disability award was "substantial," but Conley does not want the specific amount revealed.
Conley's wife might be able to receive benefits after he dies, but she also might face legal delays.
"If he dies before all the benefits are paid, his wife will have to prove again that he died of mesothelioma to keep getting those benefits."
Additionally, other legal complications could potentially arise if Conley dies from a different cause, such as a car accident, instead of mesothelioma.
Jason Butcher, a public information specialist for Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline, said he could not comment on the status of the case.
"That is private information," Butcher said on Friday. "Whenever the ruling is over, we can tell you what has been ruled, but we can't give out any information before that."
Reach Paul J. Nyden at pjny...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5164.
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Saying that because this poor man is 85 years old and doesn't deserve his compensation because of his age is horrid. Would you think a man that needed heart surgery at that age to be able to live should be denied that surgery by the insurance companies? I think a lot of you conservative tea party types talk out of both sides of your mouths.
How about the insurance companies takes your mother and fathers insurance away from them and just let them die because they are 85 and have been darned lucky to live that long. Some of you people are sorry excuses through and through.