context of Workers Compensation law, if one suffers injuries resulting in permanent disability of a member of his body or of the body as a whole, it does not necessarily follow that a subsequent injury cannot result in his total and permanent disability without attributing that result to the previous injury to any substantial degree or to any extent at all." The Court of Appeals affirmed the Court of Special Appeals' decision. The decision in Compton is in one sense a logical extension of the principle that the employer/insurer are responsible for whatever disability results from the accident. In Reliance Insurance Company v. Watts, 16 Md. App. 71, 293 A.2d 836 (1972), the Court of Special Appeals stated that the determination of the amount of disability due to an accident should be made based upon the assumption that the Claimant had no pre-existing disability, and the employer/insurer are merely responsible for whatever disability results from the accident. The finder of fact therefore must assume that there is no pre-existing disability when making a determination of disability due to the accidental injury and that the employer is responsible only for the disability due to the accidental injury and no more. This principle can work to the advantage of the employer/insurer. Take for example a 40-year- old Claimant who becomes permanently and totally disabled as a result of a pre-existing left leg amputation and right leg amputation due to an accident. In this scenario, t here is no question that 50% of the Claimant's permanent total disability is due to the accident. However, when we assume that the Claimant had no pre-existing disability and determine solely the disability due to the accident, the proper award is 100% of the right leg, and the Fund pays the remainder of the permanent total benefits. Assuming that the Claimant has a normal life expectancy, the Fund would pay approximately three times the amount paid by the employer/insurer. In defending a Compton claim, it is obviously not enough to show that the Claimant had pre- existing disabilities. A party needs to show that the accident alone was not sufficient to cause a
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