Filtered workers' comp decisions

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award of permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund, finding insufficient evidence of a pre-existing disability that constituted a hindrance to employment at the time of the work injury. The Commission determined that without proof of such a qualifying pre-existing condition, the employee's claim against the Second Injury Fund could not be sustained.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award of permanent partial disability and finding that the Second Injury Fund was liable for permanent total disability. The reversal centered on whether the employee's 2001 work-related injury to bilateral knees and low back constituted a qualifying preexisting disability under § 287.220.3, as the two body parts combined met only 60 weeks of disability rather than the required minimum of 50 weeks each.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation to Christina Alcorn, a paraprofessional educator who claimed a back injury sustained while lifting a seizing student from bleachers on November 11, 2003. The reversal was based on the employee's failure to provide written notice of the injury within thirty days as required by Missouri statute, with the Commission finding insufficient evidence that the employer was not prejudiced by the delayed notice.

The Missouri Court of Appeals reversed the Commission's denial of an occupational disease claim, finding that the employee satisfied the 30-day notice requirement and that a one-day discrepancy in the date of injury caused no prejudice to the employer. The Commission reinstated compensation for the employee's occupational disease claim.

The Missouri Court of Appeals reversed the Commission's January 2010 award denying compensation, finding the Commission erred in rejecting uncontradicted medical testimony that the employee was permanently and totally disabled from rheumatoid arthritis combined with osteoarthritis. The Commission was remanded to determine the degree of disability proportionally in accordance with the medical evidence and to determine the Second Injury Fund's liability.

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 Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award that found the Second Injury Fund liable for permanent total disability benefits following an employee's January 3, 2014 workplace accident involving neck and arm injury. The Commission determined the administrative law judge erred in her application of law regarding Fund liability for the occupational disease claim.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to an employee who slipped and fell on stairs in a shared office building stairwell, finding that the employee failed to prove her injuries arose out of and in the course of her employment. The reversal was based on the determination that the employer did not own or control the common area where the fall occurred.

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 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 denial of benefits to the dependents of Thomas Barton, who died in an automobile accident on March 24, 2004 while attending a work-related SLAA board meeting. The ALJ had found the accident did not arise out of and in the course of employment and that intoxication barred recovery, but the Commission disagreed with this determination.

The Missouri LIRC reversed the administrative law judge's award of 5.225 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits to the Second Injury Fund, finding insufficient medical evidence that the right knee injury had reached maximum medical improvement by the time of the primary injury date. The Commission determined that the employee's right knee surgery in February 2014 and subsequent medical treatment occurred after the relevant injury date, undermining the basis for Second Injury Fund liability.

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 Missouri LIRC reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award, finding that the employee failed to establish that an injury was sustained due to an accident arising out of and in the course of employment. The Commission determined that the employer's evidence was more credible and persuasive than the employee's version of the alleged accident.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed an Administrative Law Judge's decision and awarded compensation to Paul Bennett for an occupational disease sustained during his 32-year employment at Kansas City Power & Light. The employee was exposed to asbestos and coal dust at power plants from 1970 to 2002, meeting the criteria for occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award that found the employee sustained a compensable work-related eye injury and was entitled to temporary total and permanent partial disability benefits. The Commission determined that the employee failed to prove the alleged workplace accident was a substantial factor in causing his left eye condition, given his pre-existing diabetes-related retinopathy and lack of medical follow-up care.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee sustained a compensable injury by accident while performing an overnight 13-hour floor stripping and refinishing shift. The employee developed plantar fasciitis in his right foot after completing the demanding work and was entitled to temporary total disability benefits and medical treatment.

The LIRC reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award, finding that the employee failed to establish medical causation between the July 29, 2004 work accident and the subsequent development of a complex perirectal fistula. The Commission determined that work was not a substantial factor in causing the resulting medical condition, as required under Missouri workers' compensation law.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Elizabeth Blake for a neck injury sustained while down-stacking microwave ovens on September 5, 2008. The Commission found that the employee's work-related lifting activities were a triggering factor for her compensable work injury, contrary to the ALJ's conclusion that the claim was not compensable.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee sustained a work-related injury on September 23, 2004, and was entitled to compensation considering preexisting conditions including a 1990 back injury and seizure disorder from a 1993 motor vehicle accident. The Commission determined that the ALJ erred in applying the Second Injury Fund statute and that the employee's prior injuries constituted hindrances and obstacles to employment that must be considered in determining permanent total disability.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits for an occupational disease claim by Ricky Blanchard, who worked as a shipping supervisor at Staples for 23 years. The reversal was based on findings that the ALJ failed to properly understand the extent of the employee's hand activities at work and incorrectly weighed expert medical opinions regarding causation.

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 Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award of 7.5% permanent partial disability to an employee who sustained a lacerated right leg from a metal pipe strike, finding no competent medical evidence supported any permanent partial disability. The Commission determined that the award was based on visual inspection of a leg that had been subsequently re-injured, making it impossible to distinguish disability from the original work injury versus later unrelated events.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award finding that employee Angela Bond sustained a compensable work injury to her right wrist from a fall caused by tripping over a telephone cord on May 17, 2007. The Commission determined that the employee's injury did not arise out of and in the course of her employment, and therefore reversed the award of past medical expenses, future medical treatment, and attorney's fees.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award, denying workers' compensation benefits to an installer who was injured when he choked on a breakfast sandwich while driving a company van. The Commission found the injury did not arise out of employment because the employee voluntarily chose to eat while driving in violation of company policy, exposing himself to a hazard unrelated to his job duties.