Split Supreme Court Denies VSSR Award to Widow for Worker's Death by Asphyxiation

A divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a widow was not entitled to an enhanced award of benefits for her husband’s death from inhaling nitrogen-saturated air. Case: State ex rel. Culver v. Industrial Commission, No. 2025-OHIO-1612, 05/07/2025, published. Facts: Kenneth Ray Jr. worked for TimkenSteel Corp. as a security guard. His job involved making security checks and inspecting the Timken facility’s fire extinguishers. On March 20, 2016, Ray entered the elevator control room at the facility to inspect the fire extinguishers inside. The room was pressurized to prevent con...