Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor v. Cargill, Inc. And Northwest National Insurance Co.

This case raises an important question concerning the scope of § 8(f) of the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. § 908 (f) (1976). Section 8(f) is intended to encourage the employment of handicapped workers by permitting an employer to avoid paying full compensation if the handicapped worker sustains an injury that would not have resulted in as great a disability if the worker had not been handicapped. The handicapped worker receives full compensation, but Section 8(f) permits the employer to limit its liability and provides for payment of the balance of compensation from a special fund established under § 44 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. § 944 (1976). The issue presented here is whether a pre-existing disability must be manifest at the time of initial hire to entitle an employer to relief under § 8(f). We conclude that it need not, and that § 8(f) entitles an employer to relief if the pre-existing contributing disability was manifest prior to the time of the final injury for which the compensation claim is being made.

FACTS

Claimant, Harold M. Carey, was employed by Cargill, Inc. for approximately four years prior to experiencing pain in his right shoulder.…