Worker Fails in Bid for PPD Increase

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker was not entitled to an increase in his award for occupational pneumoconiosis. Case: Puleo v. Coronado Group LLC, No. 24-ICA-96, 09/04/2024, unpublished. Facts: Lonnie R. Puleo worked for Coronado Group LLC. He filed a workers’ compensation claim in October 2021 asserting that he had occupational pneumoconiosis. Puleo said he was exposed to the hazards of occupational pneumoconiosis for 14 years and that his date of last exposure was July 14, 2021. A claims administrator for Coronado’s insura...