FIRM NEWS & PRESS RELEASES

Wednesday, Jul. 21, 2010

Judy Barrasso, H. Minor Pipes, III and Susan Rogge Secure Victory in Fifth Circuit On Insurance Coverage For Occupational Hearing Loss Claims Under Workers Compensation/Employers Liability Policy

In the first case in Louisiana directly addressing the issue whether claims for hearing loss due to long-term occupational exposure to noise constitute disease or accident for purposes of insurance coverage, Barrasso Usdin secured a victory for Liberty Mutual, obtaining a favorable ruling from the Fifth Circuit that resulted in a dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims. In Bridgestone/Firestone v. Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, et al., Firestone sought indemnity and defense for underlying claims brought against it by employees who allegedly suffered hearing loss due to long-term exposure to occupational noise. The Fifth Circuit agreed that occupational hearing loss claims due to long term exposure constitute “bodily injury by disease” claims under a workers compensation/employers liability policy and, therefore, the policy’s thirty-six month exclusion unambiguously excluded coverage for plaintiffs’ claims. The defense team included Judy Barrasso, H. Minor Pipes, III, and Susan Rogge.