Pointing to tough legal standards approved by the Legislature, an appeals court rejected workers’ compensation insurance claims involving allegations that two men developed meningitis after inhaling types of fungus while on the job.

In one of the cases, Indian River County school district groundskeeper Edward Cruce died of cryptococcal meningitis in January 2015. The case centered on allegations that he had been exposed to cryptococcus fungus in pigeon feces while cleaning out a storage area months before his death.