A Commonwealth Court panel has ruled the widow of a Williamsport fire chief who died from gastric cancer is not entitled workers' compensation benefits that would amount to about $40,000 a year.
The panel Monday in a 2-1 decision found the October 2011 death of Platoon Chief Jeffrey Cole was not related to cancers suffered by firefighters.
The ruling in favor of the city vacated the decision of a Workers' Compensation Board judge who had granted the benefits.
The panel ruled Cole's widow, Ursula Miele-Cole, failed to establish her husband had direct exposure to a carcinogen classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as required by the Worker's Compensation Act. All three panel members favored vacating the decision awarding benefits but one member wanted the case remanded to board.
The decision will be appealed to the state Supreme Court, Miele-Cole's lawyer, Richard R. DiStefano, said Wednesday.