Brian Vossen II v. Marshall County Coal Resources, 25-ica-67

Brian Vossen II, employed by Marshall County Coal Resources, developed a right eye corneal ulcer, allegedly due to dirt and dust exposure at work on June 4, 2024.
Medical records showed Mr. Vossen had poor contact lens hygiene, including sleeping with lenses for weeks; cultures revealed Pseudomonas bacteria in his eye and from his contact lenses.
Ophthalmologists removed two fibrous foreign bodies from his cornea, possibly from blue bed sheets, and none conclusively linked the ulcer to a workplace incident.
Mr. Vossen filed a workers’ compensation claim asserting his ulcer resulted from a work-related injury (2024021762), but the claim administrator and the Workers' Compensation Board of Review rejected the claim.
Mr. Vossen appealed, arguing the ulcer was caused by a workplace incident, but the Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed the Board's decision, finding insufficient evidence connecting the injury to employment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the eye injury was sustained in the course of and resulted from employment	Vossen claims dust and debris at work caused the ulcer	MCCR argues medical evidence points to poor contact lens hygiene and no link to workplace	The court found insufficient evidence of work-related causation and affirmed the rejection

Barnett v. State Workmen’s Comp. Comm’r, 153 W. Va. 796, 172 S.E.2d 698 (W. Va. 1970) (sets out test for compensability in workers' compensation cases)
Sansom v. Workers’ Comp. Comm’r, 176 W. Va. 545, 346 S.E.2d 63 (W. Va. 1986) (elaborates on the same compensability requirements)
In re Queen, 196 W. Va. 442, 473 S.E.2d 483 (W. Va. 1996) (deferential standard of review for administrative agency findings)