Filtered workers' comp decisions

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding unpaid past medical expenses for an employee who sustained injuries to both knees. The Commission affirmed the ALJ's findings on permanent partial disability and temporary total disability but reversed the denial of medical expense compensation.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding the nature and extent of permanent disability and liability for future medical treatment in this shoulder and wrist injury case. The employee (Thomas Wann) was found to have sustained permanent partial disabilities of both shoulders and wrists, with the Commission reviewing disputed issues of permanent total disability, future medical care, and disfigurement.

The Commission modified the ALJ's award regarding the nature and extent of the employee's permanent disability in a workers' compensation case involving a foot fracture that resulted in life-threatening complications including deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli. The employee, a 54-year-old lumber yard delivery driver, sought permanent total disability compensation due to disabling effects of post-phlebitic syndrome in his left lower extremity resulting from the January 4, 2010 injury.

The Missouri LIRC modified the ALJ's award, finding that a work accident on October 26, 2008, was the prevailing factor causing injury to the employee's lumbar spine and that subsequent surgeries (lumbar discectomy/fusion and cervical discectomy/fusion) were reasonably required. The employee was awarded permanent partial disability benefits totaling 120 weeks for the combined lumbar and cervical spine injuries, with the Second Injury Fund held liable for preexisting conditions.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding permanent partial disability benefits for an employee who sustained a left knee injury on September 19, 2013, requiring surgical intervention and ongoing medical treatment. The Commission found the initial determination of 22.5% permanent partial disability was too low given the employee's need for continued treatment including Orthovisc injections and eventual total knee replacement.

The Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award, determining that Michael Menech was the employer operating subject to Missouri Workers' Compensation Law and was liable for temporary total disability benefits of $60,332.73 from August 20, 2012 to February 8, 2016, plus permanent partial disability benefits of $23,333.10 for a 50% left eye disability. The Second Injury Fund was ordered to reimburse reasonable medical expenses totaling $51,183.42 incurred as a result of the August 20, 2012 injury.

The Missouri LIRC modified the administrative law judge's decision regarding a December 6, 2014 work-related accident involving employee Travis Wilkins, affirming the work-related injury but modifying findings on medical causation, medical expenses, temporary disability, and permanent partial disability awards. The Commission addressed whether a staph infection was causally related to the workplace accident and reviewed the basis for compensation determinations.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, finding the reported workplace accident of February 8, 2011 was the prevailing factor in causing the employee's lumbar spine and psychiatric injuries. The employee was awarded 15% permanent partial disability for lumbar spine injury and 5% for psychiatric disability, with the Second Injury Fund liable for 79.1 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's decision regarding the nature and extent of disability, finding the employee credible and her complaints substantially corroborated by medical records. The employee sustained work-related injuries to her lumbar spine, left hip, and left lower extremity from a February 17, 2010 accident, with the Commission reconsidering the determination of permanent total disability based on the employee's documented daily pain and functional limitations.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding average weekly wage, future medical care, and the nature and extent of disability for Heather Bass, who sustained injuries to her left shoulder and elbow along with a psychiatric condition. The Commission adopted the ALJ's findings on permanent partial disability benefits while addressing disputes over compensation rates and medical care liability.

The Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award regarding the nature and extent of employer's liability for permanent disability resulting from a November 11, 2009 work injury causing herniated discs at L4-5 and L5-S1. The Commission affirmed causality findings and medical expense liability but modified the disability compensation determinations and Second Injury Fund liability.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, increasing the permanent partial disability rating for the employee's left knee injury sustained on June 2, 2010, and finding employer liable for future medical benefits including knee replacement. The Commission rejected the employer's expert testimony that minimized the work injury's effects and found the employee's preexisting degenerative arthritis was asymptomatic prior to the work accident.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, affirming that the employee sustained a compensable cervical spine injury (herniated disc with loose fragment) on January 16, 2013, during work and that surgical treatment was reasonable and necessary. The Commission ordered the employer to pay temporary total disability benefits and medical expenses including discectomy and fusion surgery at the C6-7 level.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, adopting most findings while addressing the admissibility of Dr. Stillings' medical report and determining permanent partial disability percentages for a right ankle injury sustained on June 6, 2012. The employee was awarded 35% permanent partial disability to the right ankle and 2% permanent partial disability of the body as a whole for psychiatric/psychological injuries causally related to the work accident.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, finding that the employee is entitled to past medical expenses for treatment related to his cervical spine strain injury from a May 24, 2012 motor vehicle accident. The employee was awarded 7.5% permanent partial disability of the cervical spine, though the Commission addressed the issue of medical expense liability that the ALJ had denied.

The Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award to allow workers' compensation benefits for mesothelioma, an occupational disease caused by toxic exposure during employment. The Court determined that the surviving spouse of the deceased employee is entitled to mesothelioma benefits under Missouri's 2014 statutory amendments, with liability fixed as of the diagnosis date rather than exposure date.

The Missouri LIRC modified the administrative law judge's award in a workers' compensation case involving Richard Wetzel's compensable work injury suffered on February 14, 2012, when he slipped and fell while carrying a heavy die casting, resulting in a trimalleolar fracture of the right ankle and claims of complex regional pain syndrome. The Commission modified the award regarding the nature and extent of permanent disability, adopting most of the ALJ's findings while disagreeing with the determination on permanent total disability status.

The LIRC modified the ALJ's award regarding future medical care and medical causation of permanent total disability and Second Injury Fund liability in a case involving a 61-year-old machine operator who slipped on a spilled chemical and sustained injuries to her wrist, mouth, and knee. The Commission affirmed the ALJ's findings on past medical expenses, temporary disability benefits, and permanent partial disability benefits, while modifying determinations on future medical care eligibility and Second Injury Fund liability.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award in this workers' compensation case involving a lumbar spine injury sustained by an employee of Mexico School District on August 29, 2006. The decision addresses the employee's entitlement to permanent partial disability benefits and the liability of the Second Injury Fund, while affirming that the work accident was the prevailing factor in causing the lumbar spine injury.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding the Second Injury Fund's liability for permanent total disability benefits, affirming that the employee is permanently and totally disabled but changing the commencement date of benefits. The employee, a delivery driver injured in a 2009 workplace fall, was entitled to permanent total disability benefits based on the combination of his primary work injury and preexisting disabling conditions affecting multiple body parts.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding the nature and extent of permanent disability and Second Injury Fund liability, while supplementing the award on medical causation. The case involved a June 15, 2005 motor vehicle accident with competing expert medical testimony regarding spine injuries and permanent total disability.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding the nature and extent of disability in a lumbar spine injury case. The employee sustained a work-related acute disk herniation at L5-S1 on August 28, 2006, with the Commission finding 50% permanent partial disability and addressing disputed issues of permanent total disability and Second Injury Fund liability.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, finding that the employee sustained a compensable back injury on September 1, 2011, and is entitled to temporary total disability benefits and future medical care, but is not permanently and totally disabled from that injury alone. The Commission determined that any permanent total disability results from a combination of the September 2011 injury with preexisting conditions, affecting Second Injury Fund liability.

The Missouri LIRC modified the administrative law judge's award regarding past medical expenses for an employee injured on August 11, 2005, finding that certain medical charges were not adequately supported by corresponding treatment records. The Commission affirmed the employee's permanent total disability status and liability for temporary total disability and future medical care, but reduced the past medical expenses award due to unsupported charges.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award in this workers' compensation case involving Maria Maddaloni-Boughton's work-related spine injury from November 2, 2013. The Commission addressed issues regarding future medical care, permanent partial disability assessment, and Second Injury Fund liability for enhanced benefits.