Filtered workers' comp decisions

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for the employee's carpal tunnel syndrome and resultant conversion disorder, with future medical treatment remaining open for modification. The Commission clarified that while the employee's husband and daughter qualify as dependents for potential Schoemehl benefits, such benefits cannot be adjudicated while the employee is still living.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision and awarded compensation to employee James Wickam, finding that his primary occupational disease injury date was September 12, 2003 (not November 6, 2000) and that he established permanent total disability based on his carpal tunnel syndrome combined with preexisting conditions. The Second Injury Fund was found liable for permanent disability benefits.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding Second Injury Fund liability in a case involving an employee's compensable occupational disease injury of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and bilateral trigger fingers arising from work activities. The employee was awarded permanent partial disability benefits for right wrist (15%) and left wrist (5%), with the Commission affirming the ALJ's findings that the employee failed to prove permanent total disability despite preexisting conditions.

The Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Kimberly Warren for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome caused by repetitive and forceful work activities. The employee was awarded permanent partial disability benefits, medical expenses, and temporary disability compensation totaling approximately $23,271.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, affirming the finding that the employee sustained bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome as an occupational disease arising from employment, but rejecting claims for shoulder injuries. The employee was awarded 20% permanent partial disability for each wrist with a 10% multiplicity factor, with the employer responsible for left carpal tunnel treatment but not the right carpal tunnel surgery already obtained by the employee at his own expense.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Thomas L. Almany, a lube service technician, who claimed he developed right carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitious job duties. The Commission found that the alleged occupational disease did not arise out of and in the course of employment under Missouri workers' compensation law.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's denial of compensation, finding that the employee is permanently and totally disabled solely from the last work injury, making the Second Injury Fund not liable. The decision clarifies that synergy between preexisting conditions and a subsequent work injury is not required to prove Second Injury Fund liability, but the evidence established the last injury alone caused the permanent total disability.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's decision that the employee was permanently and totally disabled from the primary injury alone, finding instead that the employee had significant preexisting conditions including poor vision, depression, and carpal tunnel syndrome that must be considered. The Commission allowed compensation while addressing the Second Injury Fund liability based on the cumulative effect of preexisting and work-related disabilities.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Eleanora Breese for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome developed from repetitive data entry work. The claimant received permanent partial disability settlement and permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund beginning May 11, 2006.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's temporary award of workers' compensation benefits to Alan Mortimer for a compensable occupational injury consisting of mild right carpal tunnel syndrome and early cubital tunnel syndrome caused by repetitive assembly work. The Commission found that objective medical evidence, including EMG testing and authorized medical treatment records, supported the finding that the employee sustained a compensable overuse injury requiring additional medical care.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision that barred the employee's workers' compensation claim based on lack of proper notice to the employer. The employee, who worked as an office assistant performing data entry for approximately 5-6 hours daily, developed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosed in 2011 and underwent bilateral carpal tunnel release surgeries.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, finding the employee sustained permanent total disability rather than permanent partial disability resulting from a right wrist and hand work injury. The Commission determined that functional capacity evaluations showing the employee could only work four hours per day, four days per week with high pain levels and significant functional limitations did not support a finding of gainful employment capability.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of permanent total disability benefits for an employee with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, finding that expert medical testimony from a physician regarding permanent partial disability combined with vocational expert testimony regarding inability to compete in the open labor market satisfied statutory requirements. The Second Injury Fund's argument that the employee must provide explicit physician certification of permanent total disability was rejected as an overly restrictive interpretation of the statute.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision and awarded compensation for carpal tunnel syndrome to a van driver who worked for Bi-State Development Agency. The employee's occupational disease arose from repetitive work activities including van steering and wheelchair assistance, which were the prevailing factor in developing bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing permanent partial disability compensation to Joan Cassell for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome developed from repetitive work duties, with benefits enhancement against the Second Injury Fund. The Commission found the award was supported by competent and substantial evidence and in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law, despite a dissenting opinion arguing insufficient evidence of synergistic disability combination.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Ronald McKinley for bilateral DeQuervain's syndrome and trigger fingers developed during his employment as a glazer. The Commission awarded $7,890.87 in compensation based on 27 percent permanent disability to the body as a whole, with the Second Injury Fund liable for the claim.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Stephanie Patterson for alleged radial tunnel syndrome in her right upper extremity. The court found that the injury did not arise out of and in the course of employment, making it non-compensable under Missouri Workers' Compensation Law.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Mark Cerutti for work-related bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and left trigger finger, with corrections made to references regarding hand laterality. The employee was awarded permanent partial disability compensation totaling 57.75 weeks for injuries to both hands and wrists.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the ALJ's temporary award, reversing the award of six weeks of temporary total disability benefits for carpal tunnel syndrome surgery due to insufficient evidence of the employee's inability to compete in the open labor market. The Commission left the issue of temporary total disability benefits open for determination at final award, pending additional evidence regarding the employee's work capacity and time missed from work.

The Commission affirmed the ALJ's decision denying compensation for bilateral carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes, finding that the medical opinions of Drs. Kramer, Ollinger, and Strecker establishing no work-related causation were more credible than Dr. Schlafly's opinion linking the condition to repetitive work activities. The employee's claims against American Airlines and the Second Injury Fund were denied.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to Mark Parchmon for carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists sustained on March 10, 2008, while employed at Atlantic Express of Missouri. The claimant was awarded 17.5% permanent partial disability for each wrist, with the Second Injury Fund liable for 16.81 weeks of compensation totaling $6,056.31.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award finding that the employee's bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome resulting from repetitive work was a compensable occupational disease. This is a temporary or partial award with proceedings remaining open for final determination of permanent disability benefits.

The LIRC affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation for Michael Coleman's bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, rejecting the Second Injury Fund's argument that occupational diseases are excluded from the definition of compensable injury. The decision reaffirms consistent prior rulings and aligns with recent appellate court decisions on the same issue.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for Jacob Morris's occupational carpal tunnel syndrome in his left wrist, contracted on October 1, 2008. The award provided 16.5% permanent partial disability compensation totaling $3,156.00 from the Second Injury Fund, with the employer's portion previously settled.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Debra Pitman for carpal tunnel syndrome in her right hand, rejecting the Second Injury Fund's argument that occupational diseases do not qualify as compensable injuries. The decision reaffirmed established precedent that carpal tunnel syndrome constitutes a compensable occupational disease injury under Missouri Workers' Compensation Law.