Johnson v. Potlatch Corp., 031699 MNWC,

• Case Date: March 16, 1999
• Court: Minnesota

RONALD JOHNSON, Employee/Appellant, v. POTLATCH CORP., SELF-INSURED, Employer. Minnesota Workers Compensation Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals March 16, 1999          HEADNOTES          PRACTICE & PROCEDURE - MATTERS AT ISSUE; OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE - ASBESTOSIS. Where the issue before the compensation judge was whether the employee was entitled to permanent partial disability benefits for asbestosis, the judge did not err in failing to decide whether the employee had any other compensable loss of lung function.          Affirmed.           Determined by Wilson, J., Wheeler, C.J., and Johnson, J.           Compensation Judge: Donald C. Erickson.           OPINION           DEBRA A. WILSON, Judge          The employee appeals from the compensation judge's finding that the employee was not entitled to permanent partial disability benefits because he did not prove that he had contracted the occupational disease of asbestosis. We affirm.          BACKGROUND          The employee worked for Potlatch Corporation [the employer] from March of 1954 to May 31, 1994. From 1960 until his retirement in May of 1994, the employee worked as an electrician, and it is undisputed that he was exposed to asbestos during this employment.          The employee underwent lung x-rays in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1997. The earlier x-rays reflected "bilateral pleural thickening," but the 1994 x-ray was read as showing that "[t]he lungs are free of infiltrates. No areas of pleural thickening or interstitial fibrosis are visible." The 1997 x-ray was interpreted as demonstrating "no significant change" from the 1994 x-ray. The employee also received pulmonary function testing in 1990, 1993, and 1995. His testing has improved over time, but the employee has consistently shown a loss of respiratory function.          The employee testified that at some time in the early 1990s he first noticed shortness of breath with exertion at work. The employee suffered from obesity and hypertension and had previously been a cigarette smoker.          The...