All Missouri workers' compensation decisions

The Commission modified the ALJ's award, disagreeing with the finding that the employee was not permanently and totally disabled. The Commission found that vocational expert Ms. Browning and medical expert Dr. Volarich were more credible than the ALJ credited, and determined that the combination of the employee's primary back injury and pre-existing back disability rendered him unable to compete in the open labor market.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying workers' compensation benefits to David Yocum for a shoulder condition claimed to be work-related. Although a dissenting opinion argued that medical evidence supported aggravation of the shoulder condition from grinding work activities, the majority found the evidence insufficient to establish the work activities as a substantial contributing factor.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation to Kevin G. Young for carpal tunnel injuries, finding the award supported by competent and substantial evidence. The Commission upheld the ALJ's evidentiary rulings excluding certain statements that were not provided to the employee's attorney within the statutory thirty-day period required by Missouri law.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing compensation for Milton Young's left knee sprain injury sustained on January 4, 2008, when he stepped on a frozen dirt clod at work. The employee was awarded 15% permanent partial disability benefits totaling $9,336.96, with the employer liable and the Second Injury Fund having no liability.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award finding the employee's injury to the face and head sustained while assembling a tree house on August 29, 2007, to be compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law. The Commission awarded unpaid medical expenses of $33,561.00, 10 weeks of temporary disability compensation at $400.00 per week, and ordered additional medical care, with the case remaining open for final determination.

The Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award, increasing the permanent partial disability rating for the employee's right ankle injury from 7.5% to 25% of the right lower extremity at the 155-week level, resulting in $13,650.46 in benefits. The Commission found that medical records and credible employee testimony supported a higher disability rating, contrary to the employer's expert opinion that the ankle had returned to normal.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation for an employee's thoracic outlet syndrome and bilateral tendinitis as occupational diseases arising out of employment. A dissenting opinion contested the finding, arguing the ALJ erred in attributing the thoracic outlet syndrome to the employment, though the majority opinion upheld the original award.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Joseph Zachery. The Commission found the award was supported by competent and substantial evidence and made in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Scott W. Zangraft for a neck and shoulder injury sustained on July 30, 2004, while removing a rack from a truck. The claimant was awarded permanent partial disability compensation of 35% for the neck and 25% for the low back, with medical benefits and temporary disability compensation previously paid.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision awarding no compensation in this workers' compensation case involving a 2004 back injury claim against the Second Injury Fund. The case centered on whether the employee's preexisting 1996 back injury constituted a serious enough permanent partial disability to constitute a hindrance to employment, which the ALJ found it did not.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Aaron Zentz for an alleged lower back injury occurring on April 26, 2005, while working at Kraft Foods. The injury was found not to have arisen out of and in the course of employment, rendering it non-compensable under Missouri Workers' Compensation Law.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award on medical fee dispute regarding Timberlake Surgery Center's application for additional reimbursement of medical fees. The Commission found the award was supported by competent and substantial evidence and made in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing compensation for a work-related injury involving hair loss and minor head contusion, with 2% permanent partial disability awarded for the head. The employee's claim for spine injury-related benefits was denied as not medically causally related to the reported work accident.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying compensation to Judy Zeschke for her workers' compensation claim involving a March 31, 2009 ankle injury and pre-existing carpal tunnel syndrome. One commissioner dissented, arguing that the Second Injury Fund should be liable for permanent partial disability based on the synergistic effects of the employee's multiple pre-existing conditions combined with the ankle injury.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits in this case involving a deceased employee (Nianguo Zhang) and spouse dependent (Yeping Sun). The injury or occupational disease was determined to not be compensable under Missouri law, with no accident or incident of occupational disease found to have occurred.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to the surviving dependents of Michel Ziade, finding that Quality Business Solutions, Inc. failed to prove it had terminated its co-employer agreement with First Class Medical Transportation prior to the employee's fatal work-related accident on July 28, 2015. The Commission also determined that issues of judicial and collateral estoppel raised by QBS were outside the scope of the administrative agency's jurisdiction.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to Slobodanka Zilic for injuries sustained on January 22, 2003, when she twisted, slipped and fell while moving a box at work. The claimant was awarded permanent partial disability compensation for injuries to her left elbow (25%), left knee (25%), and low back (12.5%), plus a 10% multiplicity load factor.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing $214.75 in unpaid emergency room costs for a work-related seizure suffered by a police officer while waiting to testify in court. The Commission also affirmed the denial of permanent partial disability benefits, finding that the employee sustained no physical injury and returned to full-duty status with no work limitations.

The Missouri Court of Appeals reversed the Commission's initial denial of permanent partial disability benefits, remanding the case for reconsideration. The Commission awarded Joseph Zimmerman 5% permanent partial disability compensation for a seizure suffered on November 14, 2001, representing a compromise between medical expert opinions of 2% and 8% disability.