A Florida appellate court found that a physician acting as an employer’s independent medical examiner did not need to be a board-certified pulmonologist to give an opinion that an employee’s history of cigarette smoking was the major cause of his respiratory condition. He was board-certified in occupational medicine and had significant experience in determining the cause of exposure injuries like the one the worker experienced, and his opinion was valid to be used in proceedings.

Before he began working for Creative Management Services (CMS) Ernesto Blanco had smoked for seventeen years. He claimed that he smoked between half a pack per day up to three packs a day. He went to a physician in November 2017 and his doctor noted he was using the inhaler more frequently and diagnosed him with probably chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He started working with CMS shortly after this visit. The job required him to move furniture, build walls and booths, paint and hang signs. He worked for CMS for eleven days and during that time claimed he saw dust and debris in the air as other workers were milling or grinding. He said they did not control the dust and he had trouble breathing and was using his inhaler more often. On December 5^th he woke up with trouble breathing and went to the ER. He was diagnosed with advanced COPD and an acute exacerbation of unspecified asthma. He filed for workers’ comp benefits, alleging the exposure from dust at the job site caused his COPD.

His employer denied him, saying the alleged exposure was not the major cause of his disease. The Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) upheld this denial, saying Blanco did not provide evidence that proved he suffered from exposure in the court of his employment. Blanco challenged the decision, saying the JCC should have excluded the medical opinion from his employer’s independent medical examiner that stated Blanco’s smoking habit was the major cause of his respiratory condition. Blanco claimed since he was not a board-certified pulmonologist, he was not qualified to give that opinion.

The appellate court said that Dr. McCluskey was board-certified in occupational medicine with significant experience in exposure cases that lead to pulmonary problems, so though he was not a board-certified pulmonologist his qualifications still allow him to give his opinion on the cause of his respiratory disease.

Read more about the case here and here.