Robert March Missouri Cases

Robert March appealed the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission's denial of permanent total disability (PTD) benefits from the Second Injury Fund. The commission found March failed to prove that the combination of his preexisting disabilities and primary work-related injuries, rather than his preexisting disabilities alone, rendered him permanently and totally disabled. The Missouri Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the commission correctly applied the burden of persuasion, which requires a claimant to show it is "more likely true than not true" that the combined injuries caused PTD, and that "equally likely" evidence fails to meet this burden.

Robert March, an employee, appealed the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission's denial of permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund. The Commission had found the employee's expert medical testimony on causation credible but then substituted its own lay opinion to deny compensation. The appellate court reversed and remanded, holding that the Commission cannot substitute its lay opinion for uncontradicted, credible expert medical testimony on causation.