Filtered Decisions

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Keith Jackson for a low back injury sustained while moving a steel channel beam on November 21, 2012. The award includes 30 weeks of permanent partial disability compensation from the employer and permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund.

The Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Kent Buerk for neck and back injuries sustained on February 13, 2009, while carrying a 65-pound windshield across a muddy surface at work. The employee was awarded permanent total disability compensation along with unpaid medical expenses and temporary total disability benefits.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to employee Judy West for injuries sustained in a fall at work on January 31, 2014. The decision clarifies that the employee's injuries were sustained both "arising out of" and "in the course of" her employment as a home care worker, satisfying Missouri's workers' compensation requirements.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of permanent total disability benefits for William Scott Johnston, who sustained a compensable back injury while pulling carpet on December 20, 2007. The Commission found the award supported by competent and substantial evidence and in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law, awarding permanent total disability benefits of $742.72 per week beginning October 31, 2012.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award granting workers' compensation benefits to Billy Styles for injuries sustained from an assault by a client on August 10, 2010. The employee was found to be permanently and totally disabled and awarded temporary total disability benefits, permanent total disability benefits, medical reimbursement, and future medical benefits.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Carla Fowler for an alleged heat exhaustion injury sustained on June 27, 2009, while working in a perimeter tower. The award of no compensation was supported by competent and substantial evidence and made in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of permanent total disability benefits to William Rose for a compensable work injury sustained on October 30, 2008, when he fell onto his left knee. The claimant is entitled to lifetime permanent total disability benefits beginning March 18, 2014, with compensation payable by the employer and insurer.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Donna M. Blyzes for alleged psychological stress and asthma caused by cigar smoke exposure. The award found no compensable injury or occupational disease under Missouri law, resulting in no benefits awarded.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying compensation for an occupational disease claim, finding that the employee failed to meet her burden of proof regarding medical causation. The court held that work must be a substantial factor in causing the medical condition, not merely a triggering or precipitating factor.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation to Martha Riggins for injuries sustained from a fall at work on March 16, 2011. The Court determined that the employee's variable shift work schedule and sleep deprivation created an increased risk of injury, establishing that the accident arose out of and in the course of employment despite the employee's inability to identify the specific cause of her fall.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Ernest Hallock for a right hand and trigger finger injury sustained on June 4, 2012, when a drill bit caught while he was operating a drill. The Second Injury Fund was found liable for permanent total disability benefits of $233.23 per week beginning April 27, 2014, and continuing for the claimant's lifetime.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for Gary Emmons, a car hauler who sustained a right knee injury when he missed a step and fell while unloading minivans from his transport vehicle on December 3, 2009. The claimant was awarded 8 weeks of permanent partial disability compensation totaling $3,383.76 for a 5% permanent disability to the right knee.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to Pamela S. Chesser for a July 28, 2008 injury when a pallet fell and struck her neck and right leg. The claimant was found to have permanent and total disability resulting from the compensable workplace accident.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award finding that the employee's left shoulder injury sustained while lifting a 200-pound door on July 15, 2013, was a compensable workers' compensation claim. The award is temporary or partial in nature, with proceedings kept open for further order pending a final award.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award finding the employee permanently totally disabled from the last injury alone, with the Second Injury Fund not liable. The Commission corrected a factual error regarding the employee's prior headache history in 2000 but otherwise upheld the award including future medical care for headaches and dental reimbursement of $650.00.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying workers' compensation to Kathy Finnell, finding she did not sustain a compensable accident or occupational disease arising out of her employment on August 21, 2003. The commission corrected clerical errors in the original award and clarified that psychological disability allegedly resulting from an alleged assault at the prosecutor's office was not causally related to work.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Jerry Murray. The Commission found that the alleged injury or occupational disease did not arise out of and in the course of employment, and therefore was not compensable under Missouri law.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing compensation for an employee's work-related asthma with bronchial reactivity caused by occupational exposure. The Commission found the employee satisfied statutory notice requirements, as the 30-day notice period was triggered by the correct medical diagnosis of irritant-induced bronchial reactivity rather than an earlier misdiagnosis of restrictive lung disease.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Cynthia Knight for a head injury sustained on January 13, 2009, when she stumbled into a hole. The claim was barred by the statute of limitations under Section 287.430, RSMo, as it was not filed within the required timeframe.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award in this workers' compensation case involving an alleged right hand injury on January 27, 2012. No compensation was awarded, and the case remains open as a temporary or partial award pending further proceedings.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Jane Cook Noyes for a back injury sustained on April 3, 2001, while bending down to remove items from a drawer at a Wal-Mart store in Macon, Missouri. The claimant was awarded permanent total disability benefits of $202.89 per week for life, with a total value of $65,678.39, supported by competent and substantial evidence and in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Felicia Buffington for an occupational disease involving repetitive use of upper extremities and cervical spine injury occurring on November 9, 2010. The total compensation awarded was $115,846.09, including unpaid medical expenses, permanent partial disability, and disfigurement benefits.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation for an employee who injured his back when his chair collapsed during a lunch break on employer premises. The Commission found that the employee's injury arose out of and in the course of employment because he was exposed to the risk of the employer's specific chair collapsing, a hazard not equally present in normal nonemployment life.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's denial of permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund, finding insufficient evidence that the employee's preexisting conditions constituted a serious hindrance to employment. Although the employee credibly testified to multiple disabling preexisting conditions including chronic thoracolumbar strain, the case was ultimately unsuccessful due to inadequate proof connecting these conditions to the statutory threshold for Second Injury Fund liability.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of permanent total disability benefits to Linda Brown, finding the award supported by competent and substantial evidence and in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law. The Commission clarified that analysis of permanent total disability requires first addressing the nature and extent of disability from the primary injury, then determining whether the primary injury combined with preexisting conditions results in total and permanent disability.