Court Affirms Finding That Farm Not Liable for Endemic Fungal Infection

The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed a jury's finding that a farm was not negligent or liable for a worker's endemic fungal infection. Mitchell Baird sued Greenwell Bros. Farm for negligence, alleging he contracted Blastomycosis while working on a grain bin improvement project in 2020. The infection is caused by direct skin inoculation or inhaling airborne spores of Blastomyces, a fungus that thrives in soil rich with decaying organic matter that is endemic to Union County. The farm provided respirators for workers, but Baird chose not to wear one because of the hot weather. ...