DES MOINES, Iowa—A slaughterhouse worker with brucellosis, a contamination of the blood caused by exposure to a bacteria carried by domestic animals, suffered an injury and not a disease, Iowa's Supreme Court has ruled.

In IBP Inc. vs. Lee Burress, the meat packer employer argued that Mr. Burress suffered from a disease, which barred his workers compensation claim because Iowa has a one-year statute of repose for disease claims.

Mr. Burress worked at an IBP meat packing plant from 1987 to 1997 killing hogs and severing their heads, among other jobs. He cut himself on various occasions during that period. Six years after leaving the company, he learned he had brucellosis and filed a claim, court records state.

A deputy commissioner determined he most likely contracted brucellosis as a result of trauma and it therefore was an injury and not an occupational disease. A commissioner later determined that Mr. Burress was totally disabled and entitled to permanent total disability benefits.

However, a district court concluded that Mr. Burress suffered from an occupational disease. A state appellate court then reversed the district court decision, finding that substantial evidence supported the commissioner's original determination.

On Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court found that it would have taken only one traumatic injury for Mr. Burress to contract brucellosis. Even though he could not pinpoint exactly when the injury occurred, it remains an injury, the Supreme Court ruled in remanding the case to determine whether Mr. Burress filed his claim within legally prescribed time limits.