Filtered workers' comp decisions

The Missouri LIRC reversed the administrative law judge's decision denying the employee's claim against the Second Injury Fund for permanent partial disability benefits. The Commission found that disability ratings from prior settlement stipulations are not conclusive against the Second Injury Fund, and that the employee's preexisting left hand disability met the applicable threshold for coverage.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision and awarded permanent total disability benefits to the surviving spouse of a deceased employee who suffered catastrophic work injuries in a 2001 tractor-trailer accident. The reversal hinged on the proper application of the Schoemehl decision regarding eligibility for permanent total disability benefits and the timing requirements for formal claims.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee, a driver technician for a durable medical equipment company, suffered an injury arising out of and within the course of employment. The Commission determined that the employee's accident occurred while performing work duties during an on-call week when he was required to keep the employer's van and remain available for emergency calls.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award of permanent partial disability and Second Injury Fund liability, finding that the employee's claim against the Second Injury Fund was barred by the statute of limitations under § 287.430 RSMo. Following the Couch decision, the court determined that a settlement agreement cannot be considered a timely 'claim' where a prior claim for the same injury had already been filed.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision denying workers' compensation for Janet Anhalt's slip-and-fall injury on the employer's client's premises. The Commission found that the injury did arise out of and in the course of employment based on the integrated working relationship between the staffing agency, client, and employee.

The Missouri LIRC reversed the administrative law judge's decision denying permanent total disability benefits, finding that the work accident was the prevailing factor in causing the employee's medical condition and total disability. Martha Robertson, who had pre-existing low back conditions and surgeries, was found entitled to Second Injury Fund benefits based on the September 17, 2009 primary injury.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying Second Injury Fund liability for an employee who sustained a compensable repetitive trauma injury to her shoulders and neck on November 1, 2010, while working as a chicken processor. The reversal addressed whether the employee's pre-existing wrist and finger injuries qualified her for Second Injury Fund benefits under Missouri workers' compensation law.

The Missouri Court of Appeals reversed the Commission's prior award, and on remand, the Commission awarded Ronald A. Lawrence II permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund beginning July 14, 2006. Benefits are payable at a differential rate of $321.85 weekly for 50 weeks, then $675.90 weekly for life, subject to a 25% attorney lien.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision and awarded compensation to employee James Wickam, finding that his primary occupational disease injury date was September 12, 2003 (not November 6, 2000) and that he established permanent total disability based on his carpal tunnel syndrome combined with preexisting conditions. The Second Injury Fund was found liable for permanent disability benefits.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision and awarded workers' compensation benefits to Donald Elliott for a low back injury that occurred on July 13, 2005, while working as a stonemason. The employee had a prior low back injury from 1996 with a herniated L5-S1 disc, but the Commission found his subsequent injury arose out of and in the course of his employment.

The Missouri Court of Appeals reversed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits, holding that the employee's injuries from a 20-25 foot fall from a railcar arose out of and in the course of employment. The LIRC awarded permanent partial disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund based on a prior settlement valuing the injuries at approximately 15% of the upper right extremity and 13% of the body as a whole for cervical and thoracic spine injuries.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits for an alleged occupational disease or accident injury to the employee's knees on September 9, 2009. The Commission found insufficient evidence that the employee suffered a compensable work-related injury on the date of injury alleged.

The Missouri LIRC reversed an ALJ's award of permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund for a 51-year-old employee with a September 7, 2011 work injury. The employee had pre-existing bilateral shoulder surgeries (2002) from previous employment-related injuries that limited her ability to perform repetitive hand and arm work.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision and awarded compensation for a psychiatric injury sustained as an occupational disease arising from the employee's 20+ years of work as a highway supervisor responding to fatal motor vehicle accidents. The employee's mental stress injury was found to be causally related to extraordinary occupational exposures including witnessing multiple fatalities and traumatic accident scenes.

The Commission reversed the ALJ's decision and found the Second Injury Fund liable for permanent total disability benefits in a workers' compensation case involving a sheet metal worker with multiple preexisting back injuries who sustained a primary low back injury on January 16, 2009. The employee had previously settled three separate back injury claims (1988, 1992, 2001) before the current injury, establishing a significant preexisting disability that triggered Second Injury Fund coverage.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award, finding that the employee sustained greater disability from a motor vehicle accident on September 27, 2007, while working as a traffic police officer. The employee, who had preexisting injuries to his left shoulder and cervical spine from an August 21, 2006 motorcycle accident, suffered additional thoracic and cervical strains when struck from behind by an SUV while performing traffic control duties.

The Missouri LIRC reversed the administrative law judge's award granting workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee was hired in Kansas rather than Missouri, thus lacking proper jurisdiction under § 287.110 RSMo. The Commission determined that the conditional job offer was accepted in Missouri, but employment was not actually established until after the employee completed a physical and drug test in Kansas, where all work duties were performed.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that employee Gwendolyn Beem sustained a compensable injury by accident when she slipped on ice in the parking lot of her workplace on February 1, 2010. The Commission determined that the employer had a leasehold interest in the parking lot where the accident occurred, establishing that the injury arose out of and in the course of employment.

The Commission reversed a temporary award from the administrative law judge that contained an inadvertent clerical error including an attorney fee lien that was never requested. The employee's claim for an occupational disease of the bilateral upper extremities was denied, as the evidence did not support that a work-related occupational disease was the prevailing factor in causing her condition.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision and determined the Second Injury Fund is liable for permanent total disability benefits. The employee sustained a left shoulder injury (proximal humerus fracture and rotator cuff tear) on December 7, 2007, when she fell on black ice, with the Commission finding the accident was the substantial contributing and prevailing factor in her injury despite significant preexisting disabilities.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee's claimed injury was not merely an exacerbation of a preexisting condition but a compensable work-related injury. The employee, a 54-year-old car hauler with multiple preexisting conditions including a prior 2003 low back injury requiring fusion surgery, was entitled to compensation for his primary injury on January 31, 2005.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award that the employee's permanent total disability resulted solely from his work-related lumbar spine injury, finding instead that the disability resulted from a combination of the work injury and preexisting lumbar spine conditions. The employee, who had documented orthopedic problems since 1996, suffered a lift-and-twist accident on January 25, 2007, and the issue was whether the work injury alone or the injury combined with preexisting disabilities caused permanent total disability.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's decision that the employee was permanently and totally disabled from the primary injury alone, finding instead that the employee had significant preexisting conditions including poor vision, depression, and carpal tunnel syndrome that must be considered. The Commission allowed compensation while addressing the Second Injury Fund liability based on the cumulative effect of preexisting and work-related disabilities.

The LIRC reversed the administrative law judge's denial of benefits after the Missouri Court of Appeals remanded the case, finding that the employee's August 5, 2007 fall from a railcar arose out of and in the course of employment. The Second Injury Fund was found liable for permanent partial disability benefits of approximately 15% to the upper right extremity and 13% to the body as a whole for cervical and thoracic spine injuries.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's three awards denying compensation after the judge failed to comply with remand orders for over one year. The Commission conducted a merits review and issued a final award allowing compensation due to the judge's failure to fulfill statutory duties regarding proper fact-finding and award issuance.