Arends v. Dacotah Cement

Summary

The South Dakota Supreme Court affirmed an award of workers’ compensation benefits to Allan Arends, holding that cumulative work-related trauma to his knee was a major contributing cause of his physical impairment. The court declined to apply the last injurious exposure rule because there was no subsequent employment or dispute between successive employers or insurers. It also upheld the denial of a statutory penalty because a good-faith dispute existed regarding liability.

Holdings

1. Arends established through medical evidence that cumulative, repetitive trauma from his work activities was a work-related injury and a major contributing cause of his degenerative knee condition and resulting impairment.
2. The last injurious exposure rule does not apply where there is no subsequent employment or subsequent employment-related activity contributing independently to the disability, impairment, or need for treatment.
3. Arends was not entitled to the statutory penalty because a good-faith dispute existed regarding whether his work was a major contributing cause of his disability.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Arends suffered a work-related injury that was a major contributing cause of his physical impairment.
2. Whether South Dakota's last injurious exposure rule applies when there is no subsequent employment.
3. Whether the absence of a good-faith dispute entitled Arends to a penalty under SDCL 62-4-10.1.

Disposition

affirmed