Filtered workers' comp decisions

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying compensation to Eugene Brown for an occupational injury sustained on August 15, 2005 while moving a table at his workplace. Although the injury was deemed compensable under Missouri law, no permanent disability was found to warrant ongoing compensation beyond the temporary disability and medical benefits already paid.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award finding the claimant's compensable injury to his lumbar back and lower extremities occurred when a transmission fell and he instinctively caught it on June 10, 2009. This is a temporary or partial award with the case remaining open for further proceedings to determine the nature and extent of permanent disability.

The LIRC affirmed the administrative law judge's award finding the employee's work-related injury to his lumbar back and lower extremities compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law. The injury occurred when a transmission fell and the employee instinctively caught it while attempting to align it with an engine on June 10, 2009.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to employee Dale Skyles, finding the award was supported by competent and substantial evidence and compliant with Missouri law. The Commission also approved the administrative law judge's allowance of attorney's fees as fair and reasonable.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Shirley Pioske-Schlueter for injuries sustained in a slip and fall accident on November 9, 2007. The claimant was awarded permanent partial disability benefits for her right leg and low back injuries, with lifetime weekly compensation of $163.80 from the Second Injury Fund beginning February 23, 2009.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation to David Duly for back injuries sustained on June 6, 2005, with permanent partial disability rated at 7.75% of body as a whole. A dissenting commissioner argued the award should be modified to increase the disability rating to 25% and grant past medical expenses based on more recent MRI evidence reviewed by the orthopedic surgeon.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award denying all workers' compensation benefits to employee Michael Altman for an alleged back injury sustained while picking up a concrete form. The Commission found that the injury did not arise out of and in the course of employment and therefore was not compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of permanent total disability benefits to employee James Wilder resulting from a 2004 work injury, finding he is permanently and totally disabled due to the combination of the work injury and preexisting disabling conditions. The Second Injury Fund is liable for permanent total disability benefits, with the employer responsible for a 40% permanent partial disability of the left shoulder and 68.7% permanent partial disability of the body as a whole referable to the cervical spine.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits for Robert Smyth's work-related low back injury sustained on March 29, 2005. The Commission found the ALJ's decision was supported by competent and substantial evidence and in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law, despite a dissenting opinion arguing for permanent total disability benefits.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits for an employee who sustained right hand injuries from repetitive meat-processing work and subsequent left shoulder injuries from modified duties. The employee, who worked on a meat-processing line using a wizard knife, underwent trigger finger release surgery but continued to experience severe pain and disability.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying compensation, finding that the employee was permanently and totally disabled before suffering the work-related rotator cuff injury and therefore not entitled to benefits. The employee failed to disclose his pre-existing back condition, social security disability status, and daily narcotic pain medication use to the employer, which would have prevented his hire for the hazardous materials handling position.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Scott J. Beine, finding that his injury did not arise out of or in the course of his employment. The employee's injury, sustained during a Sheriff's Association charity golf tournament, was determined to fall outside the scope of employment coverage, and the mutual benefit doctrine was found inapplicable.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Melvin Stark for a low back injury sustained on May 10, 2005, while installing a galvanized steel laundry chute at his workplace in Pulaski County, Missouri. The injury resulted in permanent total disability, and the Commission found the award was supported by competent and substantial evidence and in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award finding that Betty Eaton's bilateral upper extremities injury arising from repetitive data entry and customer service work was a compensable occupational disease. Future medical benefits were awarded, with the case kept open for further proceedings to determine a final award.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to Alice McPherson for injuries sustained on January 22, 2001, when she was thrown from a sleeper berth due to sudden braking while working as a team driver. The employee was awarded 10% permanent disability to the body as a whole and temporary total disability compensation for the period from January 23, 2001, to September 12, 2002.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to James Vann for a left shoulder injury sustained on February 1, 2007, while attempting to close an overhead door at work. The employee was found to have 23.7% permanent disability and is entitled to ongoing weekly compensation benefits of $348.29 for life, with additional support from the Second Injury Fund.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Brian Guyer for injuries sustained when a high-pressure valve exploded while he was unloading a tanker truck on August 16, 2007. The employee was found to be permanently totally disabled and awarded lifetime permanent total disability benefits at $357.32 per week plus necessary medical treatment.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for Robert Gosche, who sustained injuries from a ceiling collapse while performing construction work at a Drury Inns facility on November 20, 2008. The award includes 60 weeks of permanent partial disability (15% PPD of low back) from the employer and permanent total disability benefits payable by the Second Injury Fund at $772.53 weekly for Gosche's lifetime.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award denying workers' compensation to Sue Ann Hecker, an in-home caregiver, for injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on July 19, 2007, while traveling between client homes. The ALJ found the employee's evidence less credible than the employer's witnesses and determined the accident did not arise out of or occur in the course and scope of employment, though a dissenting opinion disagreed with this credibility determination.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits in this case. The Commission found that the ALJ's award was supported by competent and substantial evidence and in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's denial of the employee's claim against the Second Injury Fund, finding that the employee is permanently and totally disabled as a result of the August 16, 2004 accident considered alone, not in combination with preexisting conditions. The Commission issued a supplemental opinion to clarify the findings of fact and conclusions of law required by statute.

The Commission affirmed the ALJ's award of medical benefits for carpal tunnel syndrome in both upper extremities, finding that the employee's occupational exposure was the prevailing factor in causing the condition. The Commission clarified that under the 2005 amendments to Missouri Workers' Compensation Law, occupational disease compensation requires proving occupational exposure was the prevailing factor, not merely a substantial factor.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits for Christopher Baldwin's alleged lower back injury from October 31, 2004. The Commission 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 Missouri LIRC affirmed the administrative law judge's award finding the employee permanently and totally disabled as a result of work-related injury, with the employer/insurer liable for permanent total disability benefits, future medical care, and spousal nursing care. The Commission modified the award to address issues including past medical expenses totaling $266,479.90, attorney's fees, and credits for previously paid benefits through November 12, 2009.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits for James Harris, who suffered a right ankle injury when he slipped and fell on ice while making a delivery as an auto parts driver on February 6, 2004. The claim was found to be compensable under Missouri law, with permanent disability rated at 65% of the right leg, and the Second Injury Fund held liable for ongoing weekly compensation of $191.56.