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Payne v. Charlotte Heating & Air Conditioning8/16/2005
sbestosis or silicosis, the worker must have been exposed for 30 working days within seven consecutive months in order for the exposure to be deemed injurious. Id. Our review is limited to determining "whether any competent evidence supports the Commission's findings of fact and whether the findings of fact support the Commission's conclusions of law." Deese v. Champion Int'l Corp., 352 N.C. 109, 116, 530 S.E.2d 549, 553 (2000).
Defendants argue first that plaintiff "provided no scientific evidence tending to show the presence of asbestosis in any environment in which he worked at Ross & Witmer or, for that fact, any other employer." This Court has squarely held that "there is no need for such expert testimony." Vaughn v. Insulating Servs., 165 N.C. App. 469, 473, 598 S.E.2d 629, 631, disc. review denied, 359 N.C. 75, 605 S.E.2d 150 (2004). See also Abernathy v. Sandoz Chems./Clariant Corp., 151 N.C. App. 252, 259, 565 S.E.2d 218, 223, cert. denied, 356 N.C. 432, 572 S.E.2d 421 (2002) (holding that scientific evidence was not required regarding the extent of exposure to asbestos when deciding where the plaintiff was last injuriously exposed under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-57).
In Abernathy, this Court held that "competent evidence" existed to support a finding of liability under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-57 when (1) the plaintiff testified "that he worked around asbestos in one way or another up until the day he retired" and that he worked directly with asbestos approximately four days a week from 1991 to 1993, (2) another employee testified that the plaintiff would take down pipe containing asbestos two or three times a week, and (3) the yard where the plaintiff worked "was very dusty with levels of asbestos present." Abernathy, 151 N.C. App. at 259, 565 S.E.2d at 223. Plaintiff offered comparable evidence in this case.
Mr. Payne testified that as part of R&W's apartment complex project, he worked directly with and supervised people cutting and installing asbestos wallboard and asbestos cloth. Mr. Payne was either cutting or standing close to people cutting asbestos boards and cloth "roughly twice a week." Don Sloop, Mr. Payne's supervisor at the Barcelona Apartments Construction Project, testified that Mr. Payne would have been exposed to asbestos material any time he was on the job site. Mr. Payne specifically testified that any cutting of the asbestos board would cause asbestos dust to cover his clothes, face, and hair and he would breathe it in. Under Abernathy, this evidence is sufficient to support the Commission's finding that Mr. Payne's last injurious exposure to asbestos occurred during his employment with R&W.
For this reason and the reasons above, we affirm the Commission's opinion and award directing defendants R&W and Travelers to pay total disability and death benefits to plaintiff.
Affirmed.
Judges TIMMONS-GOODSON and MCCULLOUGH concur.
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