A case involving a worker who claims he developed neurological injuries after coming into contact with toxic chemicals will proceed now that a federal judge in Pennsylvania has denied summary judgment to both sides.

The ruling came in a suit filed by former Oxford Mining Co. fuel technician Robert Lucas over exposure to the ACES II chemical. Lucas sued the makers and distributors of the chemical, TAL Technologies and American Clean Energy Systems.

The defendants argued that causation on Lucas' injuries was fully litigated and conclusively determined in an Ohio workers' compensation administrative proceeding Lucas brought against his former employer, the mining company, according to U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak of the Western District of Pennsylvania's opinion.