Filtered Decisions

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 Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for Mike Burks' left shoulder injury sustained on July 31, 2000, when he slipped while carrying an overhead hood at a Ford Motor Company facility in St. Louis County. The employee was awarded compensation for 7.5% permanent partial disability of the left shoulder, with necessary medical aid of $1,667.85 paid by the self-insured employer.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of permanent partial disability as modified, but reversed awards for past and future medical expenses related to insoles due to insufficient competent and substantial evidence in the record. The Commission also reversed the denial of temporary total disability credit for overpayment.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed with modification the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Robert Kasza for a low back injury sustained on October 16, 2002 while lifting a marble slab. The Commission increased the award to include an additional $298.05 for pain management services provided by BJC Health System, along with the previously awarded $3,584.00 for medical expenses.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying compensation to Elena Guerra for an alleged work injury on October 12, 2001. The Commission found the denial was supported by competent and substantial evidence and in accordance with the Missouri Workers' Compensation Act.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Raymond Nelson for a right shoulder injury sustained on November 30, 2001, while employed at ABB Power T & D Company. The award included temporary disability compensation, permanent partial disability benefits, and medical aid, with the Second Injury Fund contributing to permanent total disability benefits.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Dan Whitt for injuries sustained in a fall from a silo platform on September 11, 1998. The claimant was determined to have permanent and total disability resulting from multiple injuries to his lower body and was awarded compensation for temporary disability, medical expenses, and ongoing benefits.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Gary C. Shroder for a back injury allegedly sustained in June 2002 while placing baskets and steel forms at a construction site. Although a dissenting opinion argued the injury was compensable as an unexpected result of usual work duties, the majority found the evidence insufficient to support compensation despite the employee's testimony of acute onset symptoms and notification to his supervisor.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award declaring Billy Baker permanently and totally disabled from a work accident on August 18, 2000, correcting a clerical error regarding the date when temporary total disability benefits ended. The Commission affirmed the award in all other respects, including the assessment of liability against the Second Injury Fund and the approval of attorney's fees.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Scott Davis for a back injury sustained on January 28, 2000, while lifting patients at his employer's facility. The claimant was awarded permanent total disability status with compensation for temporary disability, medical expenses, and attorney's fees.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation to Garry W. Buescher for a brain injury sustained on October 25, 2000, rejecting the employer's request for a 15% reduction based on failure to wear a seatbelt. The majority found the employer failed to prove the employee's injuries were caused by willful failure to use the safety device, though a dissenting member disagreed with this determination.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award denying workers' compensation benefits to employee Ajka Muminovic, finding that the alleged injury did not arise out of and in the course of employment. No compensation was awarded despite $6,752.52 in medical aid already paid by the insurer.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award denying all workers' compensation benefits to employee Paul Frost for an alleged workplace injury on April 14, 2002. The Second Injury Fund's application for review was rejected as erroneous since the original decision explicitly awarded no Second Injury Fund benefits, leaving no justiciable issues for appeal.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision awarding no compensation to the employee for claimed right carpal tunnel syndrome as an occupational disease. The employee failed to establish sufficient evidence that the condition arose from occupational exposure greater than that affecting the general public and directly linked to distinctive features of the employment.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Marcus Bentley for an alleged back injury on October 16, 2003. The claimant failed to prove that his physical complaints were related to a work incident and therefore no compensation was awarded.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's dismissal of the workers' compensation claim on jurisdictional grounds, finding that the Division of Workers' Compensation lacked jurisdiction because the employment contract was not made in Missouri. The employee failed to establish that the contract of employment was made in Missouri, as required by Section 287.110.2 RSMo, and the employer's testimony regarding employment practices was found more credible than the employee's assertion of a job offer during a telephone conversation.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award in a workers' compensation case involving employee William R. Davis and employer J. T. Pitts for an injury sustained on October 31, 2001. The decision addressed whether the employer was entitled to a 15% reduction in compensation under Section 287.120.6(1) RSMo based on the employee's violation of the employer's alcohol policy.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Regina Davis for an alleged injury on November 20, 2000. The Commission found that there was no compensable accident or occupational disease arising out of and in the course of employment, resulting in no compensation awarded.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for an ironworker who sustained a repetitive strain injury to his right upper extremity while employed by Vee-Jay Cement Construction Company. The claimant was awarded compensation for temporary total disability, permanent partial disability to the elbow and wrist, and disfigurement.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Mark H. Frumhoff for a right shoulder injury allegedly sustained on April 21, 2004. The Commission found that the injury did not arise out of and in the course of employment, making it non-compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to Douglas Hayden for injuries sustained on February 12, 2003, when his vehicle was struck by a truck while transporting workers. The claimant was awarded 10% permanent disability referable to cervical spine and 20% permanent disability referable to the left bicep, with past medical expenses and temporary disability compensation already paid by the insurer.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits for Cordia Anderson's back injury sustained on September 24, 2002, while dumping a 55-gallon drum. The injury was found to be compensable under Missouri law with permanent total disability benefits awarded.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for David Garrett's occupational disease injuries to both upper extremities sustained while performing repetitive lifting and stacking work duties at Earthgrains Company. The claimant was awarded 30% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole, with the claim against co-employer Micro Innovations denied.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Lynn Knox for a right shoulder injury sustained on July 15, 2002, while reaching for merchandise at Garden Ridge Management. The claimant was awarded 30% permanent partial disability with total compensation of $17,406.27, with liability shared between the employer's insurer and the Second Injury Fund.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits for Ann Dudley, finding that her alleged injury from work stress on January 2, 2004 did not constitute a compensable accident or occupational disease under Missouri law. No compensation was awarded as the injury was determined not to have arisen out of and in the course of employment.