Filtered workers' comp decisions

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award finding that Charles Bourrage's low back injury sustained on July 25, 2015 while pushing and pulling a heavy container was compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law. The award is temporary or partial in nature, with future medical treatment and temporary total disability benefits to be determined, and proceedings remain open for final determination.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation for Lisa Caldwell's work-related lumbosacral syndrome/severe lumbar strain injury sustained on February 4, 2012. The employee was found to have reached maximum medical improvement on August 15, 2012, with permanent restrictions limiting lifting to 20 pounds and restricting bending, squatting, and kneeling activities to occasional basis.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of 8.75% permanent disability to the body as a whole for the employee's work-related lumbar spine injury sustained on October 25, 2012. The Commission also affirmed a 1.75% load factor assigned for the synergistic effect between the primary low back injury and preexisting hand disabilities, but rejected claims of synergy with unrelated conditions such as nosebleeds, migraines, and ankle issues.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation to Robert L. Davis for a work-related lower back injury on April 6, 2013. A dissenting opinion argued the employee failed to prove a compensable accident and that medical records did not document the alleged traumatic incident.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing compensation to Richard Raney for a thoracic spine injury allegedly sustained while stocking shelves on February 27, 2017. The Commission approved underpaid temporary total disability compensation of $148.00 and affirmed the attorney's fee allowance.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to DeUngria Croft for an alleged back injury sustained while moving a refrigerator at Courtesy Diner on March 16, 2015. The claim was found non-compensable because the injury did not arise out of and in the course of employment, proper notice was not received, and the claim was not filed within the required timeframe.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying workers' compensation to Carole Jones for injuries sustained while lifting heavy bags at a Menard's store on September 14, 2015. The majority found that the employee failed to establish that her work injury was the prevailing factor in causing her back and shoulder injuries, though a dissenting opinion disputed this finding based on the medical evidence of persistent symptoms since the date of injury.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, finding that the employee only needed to meet a preponderance of the evidence standard (more likely than not) rather than a clear and convincing standard to prove medical treatment was reasonably required for her work-related injuries. The Commission ordered the employer to pay for the initial MRI, while upholding the administrative law judge's findings of 20% permanent partial disability for the back and 5% for the knee.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Thomas Walker for a low back injury sustained on August 15, 2014, when he slipped on a muddy hillside at the St. Louis Zoological Park. Walker was awarded permanent partial disability compensation of 20 percent of the body as a whole referable to the low back, with ongoing weekly payments.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to employee Ollie Hickmon for a work-related injury sustained on April 10, 2013, while lifting a repaired pallet at Propak Logistics. The decision awarded permanent total disability benefits beginning March 23, 2016, at a weekly rate of $501.06 for the remainder of the claimant's lifetime.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award in a workers' compensation case involving Danny L. Harris, who sustained a low back injury arising out of his employment with Ralls County on March 9, 2009. The Commission modified the ALJ's determinations regarding medical causation, the nature and extent of disability, and future medical benefits.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award finding that James K. Haag's back injury sustained on March 17, 2017 while lifting concrete was a compensable workers' compensation claim. The Commission awarded temporary total disability benefits of $618.43 per week beginning October 20, 2017, with medical costs and permanent disability determination to be made at a later date.

The Commission modified the ALJ's award, affirming that the employee, a welder, sustained a work-related back injury on March 22, 2012, resulting in 15% permanent partial disability and permanent total disability status. The Second Injury Fund was held liable for PTD benefits of $333.18 per week for life, with the Commission clarifying that the employee's PTD resulted from the combination of the primary work injury and preexisting disabilities, not the work injury alone.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation to Linda Ford for a 2005 work-related back injury, with a supplemental opinion correcting a misstatement regarding medical record review. One dissenting opinion disagreed with the denial of future medical care, arguing that ongoing treatment remained necessary.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Larry Barrett for a compensable injury to his right hip and lumbar spine sustained on November 10, 2016. The Commission approved permanent partial disability compensation of $24,367.70 based on 15% right hip and 5% body disability referable to the lumbar spine.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for Rodney D. Deckard's back injury sustained when he slipped on ice on February 24, 2015, while employed by the Department of Natural Resources. The employee was awarded 35% permanent partial disability with temporary total disability payments of $14,134.44 and medical aid valued at $164,250.59.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, reducing the permanent partial disability rating for the lower back from 35% to 15% while affirming the finding that the work accident caused injury to the left shoulder and lower back. The Commission found the employee was not entitled to future medical benefits and rejected causation arguments regarding the employee's sarcoidosis and hip condition.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to William R. Johnson for a back injury sustained on December 12, 2013, while loading firewood. The claim was settled for 15% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole, with the Second Injury Fund providing ongoing permanent total disability payments.

The Commission reversed the ALJ's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee's low back and left leg injury sustained while changing bed sheets arose out of and in the course of her employment as a nurse aide. The Commission rejected the ALJ's discrediting of the treating physician's opinion that the work injury was the prevailing factor in developing the employee's disc herniation and radiating leg pain.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award to find the Second Injury Fund liable for permanent partial disability benefits, as the employee had preexisting permanent partial disabilities that constituted a hindrance to employment. The employee suffered chronic lumbar sprain/strain, symptomatic lumbar disc protrusions, bilateral lower extremity radiculitis, and cervical spine injuries from a work accident on August 10, 2011, and is entitled to ongoing future medical benefits.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to Connie J. Carty for a lumbar spine injury sustained on November 8, 2011, during defensive tactics training when she fell backward after resisting her partner's grab. The employee's claim was found compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law, with temporary total disability payments and necessary medical aid previously provided by the employer-insurer.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to David Sanderson for a low back injury sustained on October 27, 2009, while loading cardboard into a baler. The employee was awarded 80 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits totaling $28,631.20 due to 20% permanent partial disability of the body as a whole.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, changing the determination of permanent disability status and liability for future medical care based on expert medical testimony. The employee suffered a work-related spinal injury on November 13, 2012, resulting in post-laminectomy syndrome with functional restrictions on lifting and overhead work.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Tim Johnson for a compensable occupational injury to his low back and right ankle sustained on December 19, 2012. The employer and insurer were ordered to pay $67,421.69 in permanent disability compensation, with the Second Injury Fund liable for an additional $35,635.94.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Martin Sanchez-Rivera for injuries sustained in a fall from approximately 25 feet while framing a window on July 16, 2010. The employee was awarded permanent total disability benefits with compensation at a rate of $291.68 per week.