Parker v. Webster County Coal, LLC, 529 S.W.3d 759

Marshall Parker, a coal miner born in 1939, slipped at work on September 8, 2008 and later had knee and lumbar spine surgeries; he stopped working and continues to have back pain.
Webster County Coal accepted liability and paid benefits for Parker’s knee injury but contested his claim that the 2008 accident caused his back condition, citing pre‑injury back complaints and degenerative changes.
Medical opinions were mixed: Dr. Eggers (Parker’s surgeon) attributed Parker’s back problems to the work incident; several defense experts attributed Parker’s symptoms and impairment to preexisting degenerative disease.
The ALJ found the back injury was work‑related, awarded combined permanent impairment benefits (26%), but terminated further income benefits under KRS 342.730(4) because Parker had qualified for normal Social Security retirement and had already received two years of temporary total disability.
The Board and Court of Appeals affirmed the ALJ’s factual findings and upheld KRS 342.730(4) as constitutional; the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed the ALJ’s work‑relatedness finding but reversed McDowell and related precedent, holding KRS 342.730(4) violates equal protection and remanded for a benefits award consistent with that conclusion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Parker’s lumbar condition was caused by the 9/8/2008 work injury	Parker: medical evidence (Dr. Eggers, records) shows the 2008 accident precipitated disabling back pathology	Webster County: preexisting degenerative disease and prior complaints show the back condition was not work‑related	Held: ALJ’s finding of work‑relatedness is supported by substantial evidence and is affirmed
Whether KRS 342.730(4) (termination of income benefits when employee qualifies for normal Social Security retirement or after two years) is constitutional under equal protection	Parker: statute discriminates among similarly situated older workers (e.g., teachers exempt from Social Security) and lacks a rational basis; thus it violates equal protection and is special legislation	Webster County: statute is rationally related to legitimate goals (preventing duplicate benefits, preserving workers’ comp solvency) and is longstanding precedent (McDowell, Keith)	Held: The Court overruled prior precedent, found KRS 342.730(4) lacks a rational basis as applied (treats similarly situated older workers differently) and violates equal protection; statute is unconstitutional and case remanded

Finley v. DBM Techs., 217 S.W.3d 261 (Ky. App. 2007) (pre‑existing dormant condition doctrine in workers’ compensation)
McDowell v. Jackson Energy RECC, 84 S.W.3d 71 (Ky. 2002) (prior holding that KRS 342.730(4) is constitutional — overruled)
Keith v. Hopple Plastics, 178 S.W.3d 463 (Ky. 2005) (upholding workers’ comp classification under rational‑basis review — discussed and limited)
Vision Mining, Inc. v. Gardner, 364 S.W.3d 456 (Ky. 2011) (equal protection analysis applied to workers’ compensation classifications)
Ira A. Watson Dept. Store v. Hamilton, 34 S.W.3d 48 (Ky. 2000) (standard for reviewing ALJ factual findings)
Wynn v. Ibold, Inc., 969 S.W.2d 695 (Ky. 1998) (earlier upholding of age‑tiered benefit reductions)
Richardson v. Belcher, 404 U.S. 78 (U.S. 1971) (Supreme Court rejection of equal‑protection challenge to Social Security offset provisions)
Heller v. Doe, 509 U.S. 312 (U.S. 1993) (rational‑basis standard and deference in equal‑protection review)
Osborne v. Keeney, 399 S.W.3d 1 (Ky. 2012) (discussion of stare decisis and when to revisit precedent)