Reynolds Metal Company v. Circuit Court of Clark County and Billy C. Kirksey

Summary

The court granted Reynolds's petition for a writ of prohibition because the Workers' Compensation Commission, not the circuit court, had exclusive original jurisdiction to determine whether Kirksey's occupational-disease claim was covered by the Workers' Compensation Act and was timely. The circuit-court claim alleged exposure to coal tar pitch and related substances, while the claim submitted to the Commission alleged asbestos exposure, and the record lacked a finding regarding the date of disablement. Justice Hart, dissenting and joined by Justice Baker, would have held that the Commission had already adjudicated the occupational-disease claim and that the undisputed facts presented only a legal question for the circuit court.