Filtered workers' comp decisions

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the administrative law judge's denial of compensation, finding that the denial was not supported by competent and substantial evidence. The employee, a 62-year-old laborer, sustained a work-related low back injury on July 25, 2006, while lifting a trash can, which was his fourth back injury, and sought permanent total disability benefits against the Second Injury Fund.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's decision, finding that the employee met her burden of proving the December 21, 2007 workplace slip-and-fall accident was the prevailing factor in causing her low back medical condition and disability. The employee, a teacher's aide with prior back surgeries and injuries, is entitled to workers' compensation benefits for her resulting condition.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award and denied the employee's claim against the Second Injury Fund for permanent partial disability benefits related to bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar neuropathy. The Commission found that the employee failed to meet his burden of proving he had reached maximum medical improvement with regard to the primary injury, making the Second Injury Fund liability determination improper.

The Commission reversed the ALJ's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee did sustain a work-related accident involving a slip and twisting motion that caused a lower back strain. The Commission found that medical records and documentation, including post-accident drug testing and nursing assessments, supported the employee's claim of a work-related injury that the ALJ had overlooked or failed to properly consider.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to employee Tiffany Meachum for a claimed work-related L5-S1 disc herniation on March 23, 2007. The Commission denied all compensation despite the ALJ's findings that the injury arose from work duties and caused permanent partial disability of 15% of the body as a whole.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award of permanent total disability, finding that the Second Injury Fund was not liable because the employee's disability resulted primarily from the work-related low back injury alone, not from a combination of the primary injury and preexisting left shoulder condition. The employee suffered a disk herniation at L4-5 from lifting a mattress and subsequently underwent multiple spinal surgeries, resulting in severe pain and significant functional limitations.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision and awarded temporary compensation to employee Tommy Mittenburg for injuries sustained on November 9, 2009, when he felt immediate pain in his lower back and neck while manipulating a 600-pound barrel of chemicals. The Commission found the employee's testimony credible that he sustained both neck and back injuries from the work incident, contrary to the administrative law judge's conclusion that only neck symptoms were work-related.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to employee Tommy Mittenburg for a work-related back injury sustained on September 3, 2010. The case involved disputed issues regarding whether the accident was compensable, notice requirements, and causation of the L4-5 lumbar condition.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision and awarded compensation, finding that occupational disease injuries qualify as "subsequent compensable injuries" under Missouri law and that the Second Injury Fund is liable. The employee sustained a compensable right shoulder injury by occupational disease on January 1, 2009, with preexisting low back and left shoulder disabilities that constituted hindrances to reemployment.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's denial of the employee's Second Injury Fund claim, finding that the employee sustained a 15% permanent partial disability of the body as a whole from a work-related back and shoulder injury in October 1996. The decision recognized that the employee's preexisting psychological disabilities (PTSD, depression, personality disorder) combined with the physical injuries resulted in permanent total disability, making the Second Injury Fund liable.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the ALJ's denial of workers' compensation benefits for an employee who injured his right ankle in a work-related fall on March 17, 2010. The Commission found that the injury satisfied the requirements of Missouri Workers' Compensation Law and awarded 30% permanent partial disability benefits for the right ankle injury.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits for a May 4, 2001 lower back reinjury, finding that the employee sustained 5% permanent partial disability attributable to that injury based on independent medical evaluation. The Commission found Dr. Swaim's medical opinions more credible than the treating physician's, as he provided thorough apportionment of disability between the two separate back injuries.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award that found the employee sustained both an accident and occupational disease injury to her right shoulder, determining instead that only the accident on April 13, 2009 was the prevailing factor causing her compensable injury. The Commission denied compensation for the claimed occupational disease and found the employee's right shoulder disability resulted from the accident injury, not repetitive work exposure.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award that found the employee sustained a work-related accident on January 14, 2002, causing a left knee injury and subsequent death. The Commission determined that the evidence did not support a compensable work-related accident, denying all compensation benefits to the employee's widow.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award of 15% permanent partial disability combined with preexisting disabilities to render the employee permanently and totally disabled. The Commission found issues with the timeliness of the claim filing and the determination of permanent disability resulting from the April 13, 2004 low back injury.

The Commission reversed the ALJ's temporary or partial award that found the employee sustained a compensable work injury to his lower back on December 1, 2008, while unloading a truck. The Commission determined that medical causation evidence did not support the finding that the work incident was the prevailing factor in causing the employee's lower back condition, given his extensive prior back injury history including a previous fusion.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision and awarded permanent partial disability benefits, finding the employee sustained a 30% permanent partial disability of the body as a whole from her primary back injury and recognizing her preexisting cardiac condition as contributing to her overall disability. The decision rejected the ALJ's dismissal of Dr. Cohen's medical opinion regarding the employee's cardiac disability and found the Second Injury Fund liable for benefits.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision denying Second Injury Fund liability for permanent partial disability benefits. The employee sustained a 20% permanent partial disability of the body as a whole referable to the lumbar spine and 30% permanent partial disability of the right hip from a work-related slip and fall injury on April 18, 2007.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's denial of Second Injury Fund liability, finding that the employee sustained a 20% permanent partial disability of the left knee from a November 2008 work-related fall that caused a torn medial meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament injury. The employee was entitled to Second Injury Fund benefits based on his multiple preexisting conditions including a prior finger injury, hernias, and diabetes that complicated his recovery from the primary knee injury.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award of permanent total disability benefits for chronic bronchitis as a separate occupational disease, finding insufficient medical evidence and expert testimony to support a new primary injury separate from the employee's 1997 laryngeal carcinoma. The decision denies compensation for the alleged 2000 occupational disease claim, determining the symptoms were a deterioration of the prior injury rather than a compensable new injury.

The Missouri LIRC reversed an ALJ's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee sustained a compensable psychiatric injury from a racial harassment incident occurring on September 25, 2006. Two psychiatrists testified that the workplace incident caused aggravation of the employee's bipolar II disorder and development of a paranoid disorder.

The LIRC reversed the administrative law judge's award that found the employee's right arm injury combined with a pre-existing left eye vision condition (amblyopia) to create enhanced disability qualifying for Second Injury Fund compensation. The commission denied compensation, finding the employee failed to meet the statutory requirements for claiming enhanced permanent partial disability benefits.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's decision and awarded compensation to employee Kimberly Regan for a neck injury caused by a coworker's sudden grabbing incident on February 6, 2007. The Commission found that the incident constituted a compensable work-related accident despite employee's preexisting cervical conditions from prior neck surgeries.

The Commission reversed the ALJ's award of 18.63 weeks of compensation for synergistic disability combining a primary right hand injury (15% PPD) with preexisting pelvis, lumbar, and cervical spine disabilities. The case involved a dispute with the Second Injury Fund regarding the proper calculation of liability for the combined effect of the employee's injuries.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee's October 29, 2006 work accident (while washing a patrol car windshield) was the prevailing factor in causing his cervical spine condition. The case involved determining medical causation for a neck injury claim that the ALJ had previously rejected based partly on the employee's prior workers' compensation settlement from an unrelated 2002 motor vehicle accident.