Filtered Decisions

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Richard Gilpin for a low back injury sustained on July 13, 2009 while pushing a cart at work. The employee was awarded permanent total disability benefits of $645.23 per week for life, with all past and future medical care to be provided by the employer and insurer.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to James K. Pippen for a work-related injury resulting in permanent partial disabilities of the lumbar spine (20%), cervical spine (7.5%), and psychiatric injury (30%). The Commission found that the employee's need to lie down to control pain resulted from both the 2002 work injury and a preexisting low back condition, thereby limiting employer liability for total permanent disability benefits.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to employee Virgil Russom for permanent partial disabilities to his cervical spine (10%), right shoulder (25%), and left wrist (15%) resulting from a work injury. The decision addresses Second Injury Fund liability and determines that the employee's need to lie down to control pain, stemming from the work injury, renders him permanently and totally disabled.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits despite finding the June 25, 2009 incident compensable, determining it was not the prevailing factor in the employee's low back and right leg complaints. No compensation was awarded for temporary disability, permanent disability, or Second Injury Fund liability.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Wilson F. Turner for injuries sustained on January 1, 1999, when he slipped and fell on excavator tracks, injuring his spine, groin area, and mental health. The employee was determined to have permanent total disability and is entitled to ongoing medical care and compensation.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Roy Blair for a left hand injury sustained while cutting steel on May 25, 2011. The employee was awarded 8.75 weeks of permanent partial disability and 5 weeks of disfigurement compensation totaling $5,755.48.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Barry Wimberly for a neck injury caused when a fellow employee dropped a 100-200 pound hose from a 25-30 foot roof onto his head. The claimant was found to be permanently and totally disabled as a result of the accident, with the employer/insurer ordered to pay underpaid temporary disability benefits and necessary medical aid.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying permanent total disability compensation to George Sutton, finding that while he was permanently and totally disabled from injuries sustained on January 28, 2001, he failed to meet his burden of proving the Second Injury Fund was liable. The decision upheld the denial because Sutton had voluntarily dismissed his claim against the Second Injury Fund as part of his settlement with his employer.

The LIRC affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing permanent and total disability compensation for George Sutton's right knee injury, finding that Dr. Margolis's opinion that preexisting conditions (polio and degenerative disc disease) combine synergistically with the primary injury was persuasive. The Commission affirmed the decision while noting that Sutton failed to prove the Second Injury Fund's liability because the January 2001 subsequent injury was voluntarily dismissed as part of the settlement.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing permanent and total disability compensation for George Sutton's bilateral upper extremity injuries sustained on January 28, 2001, finding that the effects combined synergistically with his preexisting conditions to result in greater disability. The Commission found the Second Injury Fund not liable because the experts' opinions on permanent total disability included effects of a subsequently dismissed claim.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to a bus driver who suffered neck, low back, and right shoulder injuries when a drunk driver crashed into the trolley she was driving in 2005. The award included past medical expenses paid by the Second Injury Fund, though a dissenting opinion argued the employee should also receive prejudgment interest on those expenses.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Michael Williams for injuries sustained in a workplace fall on November 29, 2007. The award includes permanent partial disability payments for multiple body parts and permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for Jerry Taylor's right knee injury sustained while loading a milk truck on March 19, 2009. Benefits include 60 weeks of permanent partial disability (25% PPD) and permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund, with the claim being fully compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for Gary Short's work-related right hip fracture and replacement surgery. The Commission found the award supported by competent and substantial evidence, though a dissenting opinion argued the decision should be modified based on concerns about causation regarding depression and sciatica claims.

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 denying additional compensation for Injury No. 03-042115, finding the employee did not sustain permanent disability, temporary total disability after June 1, 2003, or need for future medical care. The case involved two separate injury numbers heard together, with the Commission issuing separate awards for clarity.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits for an employee's claimed occupational disease low back injury, finding the employer's medical expert credible and persuasive. The Commission clarified that while traumatic events are not required to prove causation in occupational disease low back claims, the evidence in this case did not support the employee's claim for compensable injury.

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 Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation to employee Joanna Mayo for injuries sustained from a fall caused by a sticky floor in the employer's break room on July 22, 2010. The Commission found that the employee's injuries arose out of and in the course of employment because they resulted from an abnormal and hazardous condition specific to the workplace, not a risk equally present in normal nonemployment life.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's temporary or partial award in a workers' compensation case involving Barbara Simmons, a billing specialist at Mercy Hospital St. Louis who suffered a right proximal humerus fracture when she fell on a linoleum floor while walking to an elevator. The case remains open for further proceedings to determine a final award.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Tammy Moore Ransdell for a low back injury sustained on February 26, 2008, while employed by Randolph County. The award includes $48,000 in compensation (25% permanent disability plus 100 weeks of temporary total disability) and $130,574 in medical expenses.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Donald Brandenburg for injuries sustained when an ambulance he was working in was struck by another vehicle on July 17, 2004. Brandenburg was awarded permanent partial disability benefits (60% of body as a whole) and permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Karen Jones for a left knee injury sustained on July 26, 2005, when she slipped and twisted her knee while stepping onto a cashier podium during her employment as a gas station cashier. The award includes permanent and total disability compensation of $271.79 weekly for life beginning September 6, 2006, plus future medical care for the left knee.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed an administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation for an employee's right knee injury sustained in a fall, with the Second Injury Fund liable for permanent partial disability benefits. The employee's claim was based on the theory that his knee injury combined synergistically with preexisting permanent partial disabilities of his thoracic and cervical spine.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of compensation for Linda Dorris's shoulder injury sustained when she tripped and fell on a street while walking between office locations during employment-related activities. The injury was determined to arise out of and in the course of employment because the employee had direct and greater exposure to the specific risk of tripping on poor pavement in the direct path between workspaces.