11 We are asked, on certiorari, to determine whether the court of appeals correctly construed the term "compensation" in thе context of Utah Code section 84A-3-110 of the Utah Occupational Disease Act. We disagree with the court of appeals' conclusiоn and reverse. We conclude that for the purpose of section 84A-8-110, "compensation" includes medical expenses.
BACKGROUND
12 Jeffrey D. Smith developed a lower back condition during the course of his more than twenty years of employment as a meat packer. Seeking coverаge for this condition under the Utah Occupational Disease Act, he filed an application for hearing with the Utah Labor Commission. The Commission held an evidentiary hearing in which medical evidence showed that approximately thirty-five percent of Mr. Smith's condition was attributable to his emplоyment. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) did not send the case to a medical panel for a more exact determination of the percentage of the condition attributable to the employment, but instead awarded Mr. Smith full payment of all reasonable and necessary medical expenses related to his lower back condition. In awarding payment to Mr. Smith, the ALJ relied on the Labor Commission Appeals Board Order on Motion for Review in Edmоnds, Case No. 02-0969 (Labor Comm'n App. Bd. Aug. 29, 2006), which held that the term "compensation" as used in Utah Code section 34A-8-110 did not include medical expenses, and
STANDARD OF REVIEW
138 We review the court of appеals' interpretation of Utah Code section 84A-3-110 for correctness. See Thomas v. Color Country Mgmt.,
ANALYSIS
T 4 The specific question raised on certio-rari is whether the Legislature intended medical expenses to be included within the term "compensation" as used in section 34A-3-110 of the Utah Occupatiоnal Disease Act. That section reads:
The compensation payable under this chapter shall be reduced and limited to the propоrtion of the compensation that would be payable if the occupational disease were the sole cause of disability or deаth, as the occupational disease as a causative factor bears to all the causes of the disability or death when the occupational disease, or any part of the disease:
(1) is causally related to employment with a non-Utah employer not subject to commission jurisdiction;
(2) is of a character to which the employee may have had substantial exposure outside of employment or to which the gеneral public is commonly exposed;
(3) is aggravated by any other disease or infirmity not itself compensable; or
(4) when disability or death from any other cause not itself compensable is aggravated, prolonged, accelerated, or in any way contributed to by an occupatiоnal disease.
Utah Code Ann. § 34A-8-110 (2005).
T5 The Utah Occupational Disease Act provides the exclusive remedy for employees who suffer disability or death as a rеsult of a disease or illness contracted in the course of their employment. See Utah Code Ann. § 34A-3-102(8) (2005). The companion Workers' Compensatiоn Act is the exclusive remedy for employees who suffer a disability or death as a result of an accident or injury sustained in the workplace. Seе id. § 34A-2-105(1) (Supp. 2008). Both acts are similar in many regards, and are contained within the same title of the Utah Code. Many of the definitions and general provisions apply to both.
16 The Utah Occupational Disease Act itself does not contain a definition of "compensation." Instead, it incorporates the definition used in the Workers' Compensation Act. 2 Utah Code section 34A-2-102(1)(c) de fines "compensation" as "the payments and benefits providеd for in this chapter or Chapter 3, Utah Occupational Disease Act." Id. § 34A-2-102(1)(c) (Supp. 2008). 3
17 When determining the meaning of a statute we first look to the words used by the Legislature, the statute's plain language. Aris Vision Inst., Inc. v. Wasatch Prop. Mgmt.; Inc.,
18 We find no ambiguity in the plain language used by the Legislature here. Compensation means "the payments and benefits provided for in [the] ... Utah Oсcupational Disease Act." Utah Code Ann. § 34A-2-102(1)(c) (Supp. 2008). Respondents would have us interpret "compensation" in the context of section 34A-8-110 tо exclude medical benefits, essentially limiting it to lost wages. We decline to do so. The phrase "payments and benefits provided for in this chapter," id., clearly contemplates all payments and benefits, not just some of them.
19 Reimbursement or direct payment of medical expenses is a payment or benefit specifically provided for in the Utah Oceupa-tional Disease Act. Section 104 of the Act states, in relevant part, "Every employer is liable for the payment of disability and medical benefits to every employee who becomes disabled. . .." Id. § 34A-8-104(1) (2005) (emphasis added). Thе term "compensation," as defined by the Legislature, must be read consistently throughout the statute; medical benefits resulting from an occupational disease are defined as part of the compensation employers are required to pay under section 34A-3-104. 4
T 10 Petitioners direct our attention to our decisions in Kennecott Copper Corp. v. Industrial Commission,
CONCLUSION
[ 11 We hold that "compensation" as used in section 34A-3-110 of the Utah Oceupational Disease Act includes the payment of medical benefits.
12 We reverse the decision of the court of apрeals and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Notes
. The Commission's decision was upheld by the court of appeals in Ameritech Library Serv. v. Labor Comm'n,
. "Subject to the limitations provided in this chapter and, unless otherwise noted, all provisions of Chapter 2, Workers' Compensation Act, and Chapter 8, Utah Injured Worker Reemployment Act, are incorporated into this chapter and shall be applied to occupational disease claims." Utah Code Ann. § 34A-3-102(2) (2005).
. Utah Code section 34A-2-102(i)(c) (Supp. 2008), formerly section 34A-2-102(3) (Supp. 2007), was renumbered in 2008. As there has been no change to the substantive language of the statute, we use the new numbering throughout this opinion.
. We leave for another day the question of apportionment of compensation under Utah Code section 34A-3-110.