Employer liability for hearing loss allowed even if work was only one of several causes.

The Supreme Court quashed the lower court's dismissal of the plaintiff's claim for damages against the coal mine employer. The plaintiff argued that years of exposure to excessive noise caused his progressive hearing loss, even though official inspections did not classify it as an occupational disease. The court held that employer liability exists even when the work condition was merely one of multiple causes and the health outcome was only indirectly linked to employment. Consequently, the case was remanded for a new judgment on damages.