The Employee testified on his own behalf. The Employee presented the following exhibits which were admitted into evidence without objection:
Exhibit A) Report of Dr. Koprivica;
Exhibit B) Letter to Ms. Haskins from Mr. Dempsey;
Exhibit C) Medical records of Employee.
The Employer provided no live testimony but presented the following exhibits, all of which were admitted into evidence without objection:
No. 1) Affidavit of Mark J. Whitehead;
No. 3) Employee Personnel File of Shaun Jordan from J.B. Hunt;
No. 4) A deposition of Shaun W. Jordan.
The following exhibit was offered by employed but not admitted:
No. 2) Arkansas Workers' Compensation Acknowledgment.
At the time of the hearing, Employee, Shaun Jordan (hereinafter referred to as Employee) was 36 years of age. He was a truck driver for J.B. Hunt Transportation. He was hired by J. B. Hunt to drive one of their trucks on a dedicated route from Kansas City, Missouri to Bristol, Tennessee. He would pick up his truck at the beginning of the week at the J.B. Hunt facility in Kansas City, Missouri, drive to the Ford plant near Bristol, Tennessee, and by the end of the week would return and drop his vehicle off, again, at the J.B. Hunt facility in Kansas City, Missouri.
Employee testified on direct examination, as follows:
On or about May 10, 2005, Employee had gone back to his vehicle, which at that time was parked in Tennessee. He had climbed into the truck and had gone to sleep when he was struck from behind by another vehicle. He was thrown from his bunk to the floor, hitting his head. By the time he opened the door, the vehicle that had struck him was moving back and forth in an attempt to get loose from his vehicle. When he hit the floor, he initially hurt his arm and hand; and, eventually, his neck and back started tingling very badly and he felt a great deal of pain. He immediately took the accident kit from inside the truck and followed the procedure, calling a State Trooper; speaking to J.B. Hunt, and waiting for the State Trooper to come and take a report. He followed the step-by-step program, including getting information from the other truck driver.
Employee did not go to the emergency room at that time, but on his drive back to Kansas City, he had pain in his neck and his vision was bad. He called the dispatcher and was told to seek medical attention immediately. He stopped in Mt. Vernon, Illinois at the hospital. In that emergency room, Employee had a CT scan of his head that was negative. The X-rays of the cervical spine and lumbar spine did not reveal any acute bony abnormalities. He was treated for musculoskeletal injury involving the cervical and thoracic muscles and given Vicodin, Soma and Relefan.
When he returned to Kansas City, he contacted the dispatcher approximately a week after on May 19th, stating he still did not feel well and was told to go to the hospital. He went to Concentra Medical Center on May 19th, 2005 where he underwent therapy. He was given an MRI scan of the cervical spine on July 14th due to continued problems and complaints of tingling into the left upper extremity. The MRI showed a cervical spondylosis at C4-C5, C5-C6 and C6-C7. There was no critical stenosis identified, and it was felt that he had a non-operative problem. Electrodiagnostic studies were performed on the cervical paraspinals and left upper extremities by Dr. Egea on July 25th, 2005. These studies were reportedly within normal limits.
Employee treated with therapy through August 5th, 2005 at Concentra Medical Centers. Employee has continued to remain symptomatic since he was released from care. He has continued seeking treatment on his own and has continued on Vicodin on an as-needed basis.
Employee states he continues to have low back pain. He also continues to have neck pain with intermittent tingling down the left arm. He uses a heat pad and hot towels on his left arm and neck and upper back when he is sleeping. He has to sleep on his back because of the musculoskeletal discomfort he develops at night. He says he has trouble sleeping because he always has pain and he also has problems lifting and he cannot grasp things very easily.
Employee has lived in the State of Missouri for approximately three to four years. He was living in Missouri when he went to seek employment with J.B. Hunt. He stated he went to their office in Kansas City, Mo at the Ameristar after having called an 800 number and was told to come in. He sat down with a representative who explained what he would be doing, how much money he would be making, the vacation time; and, as Employee states, he was told "he had the job." He understood that he would have so many days of vacation after he had worked there for one year, and he also understood his rate of pay. He was told he would be given a dedicated run from Claycomo to Tennessee, then back again, using the same route every time. After he left, he celebrated that he had a job with his girlfriend.
When he started his job, he would go to the Kansas City, Missouri terminal for J. B. Hunt near the Ameristar to pick up his trailer and then proceed to Tennessee. The truck would then be unloaded and then reloaded where he would then go to Penske's, unload, and then go back to the Ameristar station. Basically, he would pick up the truck on Monday in Kansas City, Missouri and would eventually return it on Friday to Kansas City, Missouri once again. He believed employer's home base was in Kansas City, Missouri. He never drove a
truck in Arkansas, and the trucks were always serviced either in St. Louis or at the Ameristar station for J. B. Hunt.
Upon cross-examination, the Employee confirmed he had a meeting at the J. B. Hunt office in Kansas City, where he filled out information. He admitted he was then told to report to Lowell, Arkansas for training for two weeks and spent two weeks in Arkansas. When asked if he understood that in order to be hired he had to pass his training, he stated that he did know that, but he was told he had a job when he was at J. B. Hunt in Kansas City, Missouri. He was asked whether he signed a contract, and he admitted that he signed a number of papers down in Arkansas but was not sure what they were. When asked if he had to take a urine test in Arkansas and get a clean result as a condition of employment, he stated yes. When shown Exhibit 1, "Jurisdiction Agreement", Employee did not recall signing that particular agreement. He did not specifically recognize that document, but that it was, in fact, his signature. He admitted that he was dispatched out of the State of Arkansas; although, at the time, he did not realize it. Finally when questioned regarding his medical treatment he admitted that the brain scan, MRI and EMG were all within normal limits, there was no need for surgery due to the accident, and he was not presently under a doctor's care today.
On redirect-examination, the Employee was asked if he was paid for training in Arkansas, and the Employee stated that he was. He gave his personal information to J. B. Hunt before he went down to Arkansas but stated he could not remember if he signed his W-9 in Kansas City or not.
The first issue to be determined in this matter is whether or not the State of Missouri has jurisdiction over this ca