Forbes Steel and Wire Company v. John

This appeal involves the application of the ""last injurious exposure"" rule to claims for disability benefits by an employee disabled from two separate work-related accidents which occurred while he was employed by the same employer, who was covered by different insurance carriers at the time of the respective accidents. The Superior Court refused to allocate responsibility between the carriers on the ground that the last injurious exposure rule precluded such a result. We agree and affirm. The material facts underlying the claims are not in dispute, but the case has a convoluted procedural history, which will be described briefly. The nominal appellant is Forbes Steel and Wire Company (""Forbes""), but the real parties in interest seeking this appeal are Liberty Mutual Insurance Company (""Liberty Mutual"") and Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company, an insurance carrier within the Kemper Group and hereinafter referred to as ""Kemper"". The appellee, John Graham, suffered compensable injuries in two industrial accidents while employed by Forbes, the first on April 3, 1969, while Forbes was insured by Liberty Mutual, and the second on August 21, 1970, while Forbes was insured by Kemper.