Filtered workers' comp decisions

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits for an employee injured on June 23, 2000, while working on an assembly line at General Motors Corporation. The Second Injury Fund was found liable for 24.1875 weeks of permanent partial disability compensation at $303.01 per week totaling $7,329.06.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation for James A. Hudson's compensable injuries sustained while performing shoveling duties. A separate concurring and dissenting opinion argued the award should be modified to increase permanent partial disability compensation for recurrent right carpal tunnel syndrome from 17% to 25% at the right wrist level.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of compensation for Pamela Grammer's occupational injury to both wrists and hands sustained on December 18, 2002, from repetitive assembly work. The decision awarded permanent partial disability benefits of 17.5% for each hand, disfigurement compensation, and necessary medical aid totaling approximately $24,458.03.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Sandra Forbeck for carpal tunnel syndrome. The employee failed to sustain her burden of proof that her right hand carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms were caused by her work activities as a cashier.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award finding that the employee's job duties were a substantial contributing factor to her development of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. The case was issued as a temporary or partial award with proceedings kept open for further consideration of final compensation.

The Missouri LIRC modified the ALJ's award and reversed the determination of employer liability, concluding that Station Casino, not Ameristar Casino, is responsible for workers' compensation benefits for the employee's occupational disease. Under the 'last exposure rule,' the employee's bilateral carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndrome arising from her dealership work at Station Casino between May 1998 and December 2000 makes Station Casino the liable employer.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to employee Traci Townser, who claimed carpal tunnel syndrome from seven years of work as a customer service representative. The majority found insufficient evidence of work-relatedness, though a dissenting opinion argued the employee's medical evidence should have been credited to establish the occupational disease claim.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to billing clerk Latonya Nelson for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome contracted on June 5, 2002, at BJC Medical Group. The award includes unpaid medical expenses, temporary disability compensation, permanent partial disability benefits for the left wrist, and disfigurement compensation totaling approximately $13,463.28.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision holding Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc. liable for workers' compensation benefits for Harold Copeland's occupational disease claim of carpal tunnel syndrome, applying the 'last exposure rule' under Missouri law. The employee was last exposed to the hazard while employed at Associated in January 2000, even though he later filed his claim while working for Elite Logistics Inc.

The administrative law judge found that the claimant's alleged bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome did not constitute a compensable injury under Missouri workers' compensation law. No benefits were awarded and the claim was dismissed.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision awarding no compensation to the employee for claimed right carpal tunnel syndrome as an occupational disease. The employee failed to establish sufficient evidence that the condition arose from occupational exposure greater than that affecting the general public and directly linked to distinctive features of the employment.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding the Second Injury Fund's payment obligations for an employee's carpal tunnel syndrome claim. The employee, who had settled with the employer/insurer for 15% permanent partial disability of each hand at the wrist, was found to be permanently and totally disabled when combined with preexisting conditions, and the Commission addressed the proper timeline for SIF benefit payments.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award, finding that the employee's bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome was not attributable to an occupational disease arising from her employment. The decision emphasizes that the employee failed to establish the required causal connection between workplace conditions and the claimed occupational disease.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing temporary compensation for an occupational disease claim filed by Mary Canada for wrist injuries sustained from 20 years of typing work. The case involves a temporary award subject to further order, with the Second Injury Fund left open as an additional party.

The LIRC affirmed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee's truck driving job was not a substantial factor in developing carpal tunnel syndrome. One commissioner dissented, arguing that medical evidence linked truck driving and repetitive hand use to the condition and that it should be compensable.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation to Cayree Ragsdale for repetitive strain injuries to both wrists and hands sustained on June 24, 1999. The claimant was awarded 20% permanent partial disability to both upper extremities, 8 weeks of permanent partial disability compensation, 8 weeks of disfigurement compensation, and future medical care for hardware removal.