Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District / Nov 22, 2022
Billy Hood, Appellant, vs. Michael Menech, Vandalia Area Historical Society and Missouri State Treasurer as Custodian of the Second Injury Fund, Respondents.
Billy Hood, an injured worker, appealed the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission's decision denying him workers' compensation benefits and ordering him to reimburse the Second Injury Fund. Hood had filed both a workers' compensation claim against his uninsured employer, Michael Menech, and a civil negligence action against Menech and the Vandalia Area Historical Society, which he settled for $53,000. The appellate court affirmed the Commission's finding that Hood's acceptance of the civil settlement constituted an election of remedies, barring him from receiving workers' compensation benefits and requiring reimbursement of funds already paid by the Second Injury Fund.