Filtered workers' comp decisions

The Commission modified the ALJ's award regarding Second Injury Fund liability for an employee with multiple work-related injuries including a primary injury on April 19, 2007, combined with preexisting conditions affecting the knees, back, shoulders, and other body parts. Medical expert testimony indicated the employee is permanently and totally disabled as a result of the work-related injury combined with preexisting medical conditions, though the ALJ had initially awarded a 22% load factor rather than full permanent total disability benefits.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, which had found the employee permanently and totally disabled from a March 15, 1999 work injury involving a slip on a wet floor causing lumbar strain. The Commission reviewed whether the employee was entitled to temporary total disability benefits from March 11, 2003 through April 25, 2004 and the extent of permanent disability resulting from the work injury.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's denial of permanent partial disability benefits for the employee's lumbar injury from the April 13, 2006 work accident. The Commission found that the employee's medical evidence, particularly Dr. Volarich's testimony, sufficiently established that the work accident was the prevailing factor in causing the employee's disc bulges and lumbar syndrome, entitling the employee to compensation.

The Missouri LIRC modified its December 7, 2010 temporary award to correct the temporary total disability rate to $666.41 as stipulated by the parties, after the employee challenged the rate used in the original award. The proceedings remain open pending a final award on the merits of the workers' compensation claim.

The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the Commission's November 2009 Final Award in all respects except future medical expenses, which it reversed and remanded. The Commission awarded future medical benefits for pain management and ongoing treatment related to the employee's June 2003 compensable low back injury, including medications, physical therapy, nerve block injections, and physician monitoring.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award by affirming liability of the Second Injury Fund for 42 weeks of permanent partial disability but reversing the award of attorney fees and costs against the Second Injury Fund. The Commission found that the Second Injury Fund did not defend the claim without reasonable ground, thus fees and costs under § 287.560 RSMo were not warranted.

The Missouri LIRC modified the administrative law judge's award by reversing the assessment of attorney fees and costs against the Second Injury Fund, while affirming liability for 13.2 weeks of permanent partial disability. The Commission found that the Second Injury Fund presented a valid defense and therefore did not defend the claim without reasonable ground as required under § 287.560 RSMo to assess costs.

The Commission modified the ALJ's decision by finding that the employee attained maximum medical improvement (MMI) on January 24, 2005, rather than December 14, 1998, based on evidence of continued treatment and surgeries after the initial MMI date. The employee was found to be permanently and totally disabled due to preexisting disabilities combining with permanent partial disabilities from a February 1996 work-related injury, with the Second Injury Fund liable for ongoing permanent total disability benefits.

The Commission modified the ALJ's award by rejecting the apportionment of permanent partial disability to preexisting conditions, finding no competent evidence supported such apportionment. The Commission affirmed the disability ratings of 25% for the left shoulder and 18% for the left elbow, but attributed all such disability to the October 2006 work-related injury.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award regarding Second Injury Fund liability for Donald Mayse, who was found to be permanently and totally disabled due to a combination of his work injury and preexisting disabling conditions. The Commission affirmed Missouri jurisdiction and permanent total disability status but corrected the calculation of Second Injury Fund compensation to properly account for the extent of permanent partial disability from the last injury.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding whether the alleged dependent Irene Goff retained the right to continuing permanent total disability benefits after the employee's death. The decision applies the June 2008 statutory amendments that rejected the Schoemehl decision and terminated unaccrued permanent total disability compensation rights upon the injured employee's death, analyzing whether these amendments applied retroactively to this case.

The Commission reviewed the administrative law judge's June 14, 2010 award and affirmed it except for a modification to question 3 on page 1, changing the answer from "yes" to "no." The final award denies workers' compensation benefits based on competent and substantial evidence in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award regarding future medical care for employee Melvin Boyers, who suffered a left knee injury on August 26, 2005 when he slipped and fell while dragging a pole after a storm. The Commission affirmed the underlying compensability finding and adopted most of the ALJ's decision, while modifying the future medical care provision to ensure the employer/insurer provides all reasonably necessary future medical treatment.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award regarding a November 20, 2005 workplace accident, addressing issues of permanent total disability, temporary total disability benefits, and past medical expenses. The Commission's decision considered whether the employee's pre-existing psychiatric condition from prior trauma affected her workers' compensation eligibility and benefits.

The Commission modified the ALJ's award regarding causation of an ACL tear sustained on September 21, 2005, determining liability for medical treatment and temporary total disability benefits. The case addresses whether a subsequent January 2007 ice fall constituted an intervening event breaking the chain of causation or was a natural result of the original workplace injury.

The Commission modified the ALJ's March 11, 2010 award in a workers' compensation case involving a March 1, 1995 vehicular accident in a TWA parking lot that caused neck injuries with bulging cervical discs. The employee claimed both physical and psychiatric permanent disabilities, but the ALJ found the psychiatric causation implausible and offset any physical disability award with third-party recovery credits, resulting in no benefits awarded.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award to include future medical care for Katherine Hunt's work injury from July 11, 2005, finding that she demonstrated reasonable probability of needing such care despite previously declining offered treatment. The Commission affirmed all other aspects of the original award and approved the attorney's fee as fair and reasonable.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, affirming that the employee is permanently and totally disabled due to a combination of his work injury and preexisting conditions, but disagreeing with the timing of when Second Injury Fund benefits should commence. The Commission addressed the proper legal framework for determining when temporary total disability ends and permanent total disability benefits should begin, focusing on the concept of maximum medical improvement.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award by increasing the permanent partial disability award against the Second Injury Fund, finding that three additional preexisting disabilities (psychiatric disorder, chronic sinusitis, and asthma) should have been included in the calculation. The Commission awarded employee $23,539.33 in permanent partial disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund based on an enhanced disability calculation of 466.110 weeks.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding a painter's bilateral chemical corneal abrasion and conjunctivitis sustained on July 10, 2006, when latex paint splashed into his eyes. The decision affirms the employee's entitlement to compensation for permanent partial disability and future medical care, including ongoing treatment for dry eyes and annual ophthalmological examinations.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, reversing the finding that the employer did not violate the Scaffolding Act and awarding a fifteen percent enhancement accordingly. The Commission affirmed all other findings regarding permanent partial disability benefits of 20% of the left biceps, 5% of each foot, and 2.5% of the body as a whole for lower back pain.

The Missouri LIRC modified the administrative law judge's award to find that the employee is permanently and totally disabled due to a combination of her primary work-related bilateral cumulative trauma injuries to her wrists and elbows (treated with carpal tunnel releases) and multiple preexisting conditions (1987 low back injury, 2000 shoulder injury, 2004 foot injury). The Commission agreed with medical and vocational expert testimony that the employee cannot access the open labor market due to the synergistic effect of her combined disabilities, which create greater restriction than the sum of individual impairments.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding the date of permanent total disability commencement for a deceased employee with combined primary and preexisting injuries. The Commission affirmed that the employee was permanently and totally disabled and that his dependent is entitled to lifetime continuation of benefits, but disagreed on the June 12, 2000 disability date, requiring clarification on when maximum medical improvement was reached to properly determine Second Injury Fund liability.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding a May 24, 2002 work accident involving employee Blaine Lyman, who sustained a left femoral neck fracture, degenerative disk disease, cataracts from hyperbaric oxygen treatment, and deep vein thrombosis. The case addressed liability for future medical care, temporary and permanent disability benefits, and Second Injury Fund obligations.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's January 8, 2010 award to clarify that the injury involved the neck and left shoulder from an occupational disease with onset on June 20, 1999. The Commission affirmed the allowance of attorney's fees and adopted the administrative law judge's findings except as modified herein.