MULTIPLE INJURY TRUST FUND v. MCCAULEY, 374 P.3d 773

Claimant John McCauley filed three separate cumulative-trauma claims against his employer, each adjudicated and later settled by separate compromise settlements in May 2013.
The three claims involved neck/back/spine (first awareness 2006), hands/arms/shoulders (1990), and knees (1990).
Employer closed the plant and Claimant’s date of last exposure for all three cumulative injuries was December 2, 2011.
Claimant sought Permanent Total Disability (PTD) benefits from the Multiple Injury Trust Fund (the Fund) via a Form 3F.
The Workers’ Compensation Court found Claimant was a “physically impaired person” under the statute and awarded PTD benefits against the Fund; the Court of Civil Appeals affirmed on different reasoning.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court reviewed statutory interpretation: whether injuries that are separately adjudicated but arise at the same time fall within the statutory definition of a “physically impaired person,” and which date governs Fund liability.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a person with disability from separately adjudicated injuries that arose at the same time qualifies as a "physically impaired person" under the statute	McCauley: The 1986 amendment to §171 expressly includes disabilities from "separately adjudicated injuries... even though arising at the same time," so he qualifies	Fund: Simultaneous injuries should not be combined to invoke Fund liability because there is no prior/subsequent injury relationship	Held: The statute's language controls — separately adjudicated injuries arising at the same time qualify; Claimant is a "physically impaired person."
Which date governs the Fund's liability when separately adjudicated cumulative injuries occurred simultaneously	McCauley: Use the relevant date of awareness or settlement as argued to the court	Fund: Generally Fund liability is fixed by law in effect at the time of the subsequent injury; simultaneous injuries complicate that rule	Held: For separately adjudicated but simultaneous cumulative trauma injuries, use the date of last exposure (here Dec. 2, 2011) to fix the Fund's liability and applicable statutes.

Special Indem. Fund v. Archer, 847 P.2d 791 (Okla. 1993) (simultaneous injuries pre-1986 were not combinable against the Fund under then-existing statute)
Special Indem. Fund v. Choate, 847 P.2d 796 (Okla. 1993) (separate adjudications; Court addressed impairment timing where evidence showed one injury preceded the other)
Reynolds v. Special Indem. Fund, 725 P.2d 1265 (Okla. 1986) (awards against Fund are allowed only as defined by statute)
MULTIPLE INJURY TRUST FUND v. WADE, 180 P.3d 1205 (Okla. 2008) (purpose of Fund and employer-protection rationale)
Holley v. Ace Am. Ins. Co., 313 P.3d 917 (Okla. 2013) (statutory construction reviewed de novo)
MULTIPLE INJ. TRUST FUND v. PULLUM, 37 P.3d 899 (Okla. 2001) (general rule: law in effect at time of subsequent injury fixes Fund liability)