To the Editor:—
Dr. J. G. Downing's recent letter to The Journal on "Occupational Dermatitis, Disease or Injury?" March 12, page 734, deserves comment and discussion, especially from the medicolegal point of view.True, in some Southern and other states the laws provide that only injuries which arise out of and in the course of the worker's employment are to be compensated and occupational diseases as such are excluded—these are Alabama, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. In addition to these states, Colorado, Georgia and South Dakota have schedules of occupational diseases, naming those which are included as being compensable under the law, but dermatitis is not included in this list. In this respect, physicians who recently attended a course on industrial dermatology given by Dr. Downing are correct.However, exception is taken to the following statement in Dr. Downing's letter:"Industrial commissions