Kentucky Retirement Systems v. Roger West

Summary

The court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the Franklin Circuit Court's judgment affirming denial of West's disability retirement benefits. It held that West retained the burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that his COPD was not pre-existing, and that the evidence did not compel a finding in his favor. The court also held that the hearing officer considered the combined effect of West's impairments, while noting that West had not preserved that issue for judicial review. Justice Scott, dissenting, would have affirmed the Court of Appeals because smoking alone did not establish that West's COPD pre-existed his employment and the evidence supported a contrary conclusion.