Filtered Decisions

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits for Joseph Abt's occupational hearing loss in his left ear caused by industrial noise exposure. The employee was awarded $637.36 in permanent partial disability compensation at a rate of $433.58 per week, with the claim properly filed and all procedural requirements satisfied.

The LIRC affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for Donald Davis's low back injury sustained on June 6, 2007, while removing a 600-pound vending machine at a motel complex. The injury was found to be compensable under Missouri law, with 20% permanent partial disability awarded to the low back.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's decision regarding the nature and extent of disability, finding the employee credible and her complaints substantially corroborated by medical records. The employee sustained work-related injuries to her lumbar spine, left hip, and left lower extremity from a February 17, 2010 accident, with the Commission reconsidering the determination of permanent total disability based on the employee's documented daily pain and functional limitations.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding average weekly wage, future medical care, and the nature and extent of disability for Heather Bass, who sustained injuries to her left shoulder and elbow along with a psychiatric condition. The Commission adopted the ALJ's findings on permanent partial disability benefits while addressing disputes over compensation rates and medical care liability.

The Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's temporary or partial award of workers' compensation benefits to Ronald Duncan, finding the award was supported by competent and substantial evidence. The Commission also upheld its jurisdiction to determine temporary total disability benefits based on the affirmed award of medical treatment.

The Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award regarding the nature and extent of employer's liability for permanent disability resulting from a November 11, 2009 work injury causing herniated discs at L4-5 and L5-S1. The Commission affirmed causality findings and medical expense liability but modified the disability compensation determinations and Second Injury Fund liability.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, increasing the permanent partial disability rating for the employee's left knee injury sustained on June 2, 2010, and finding employer liable for future medical benefits including knee replacement. The Commission rejected the employer's expert testimony that minimized the work injury's effects and found the employee's preexisting degenerative arthritis was asymptomatic prior to the work accident.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation for Matthew Hembree, finding that the ALJ properly credited Dr. Mullins's credible medical testimony regarding future medical care needs. The employer's right to select treating physicians remains intact, but they must select providers who accept the ALJ's factual findings regarding the injury's nature and severity.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation to employee Dustin Elsworth for a motor vehicle accident injury occurring on March 30, 2007, rejecting the employer's argument for a safety penalty reduction based on the employee's alleged ADHD and texting while driving. The Commission held that negligence is immaterial in workers' compensation proceedings and that a safety penalty under § 287.120.5 can only apply when an employer has established specific safety rules or devices with employee knowledge and reasonable enforcement efforts.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, adopting most findings while addressing the admissibility of Dr. Stillings' medical report and determining permanent partial disability percentages for a right ankle injury sustained on June 6, 2012. The employee was awarded 35% permanent partial disability to the right ankle and 2% permanent partial disability of the body as a whole for psychiatric/psychological injuries causally related to the work accident.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, affirming that the employee sustained a compensable cervical spine injury (herniated disc with loose fragment) on January 16, 2013, during work and that surgical treatment was reasonable and necessary. The Commission ordered the employer to pay temporary total disability benefits and medical expenses including discectomy and fusion surgery at the C6-7 level.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing death benefits compensation to the dependent spouse of William Johnson, who died in a work-related accident on September 3, 2015. The decision upheld the calculation of average weekly wage based on statutory minimum 30-hour week at the employee's hourly rate rather than his prior full-time wages.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's decision denying workers' compensation to an in-home health aide who claimed a cervical spine injury from attempting to lift a 400-pound patient. The claim was denied due to failure to establish medical causation, including significant inconsistencies regarding the date of injury and a ten-day delay in seeking emergency treatment.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of permanent total disability compensation to employee Donald Clift for a back injury sustained on May 8, 2013, while performing repetitive heavy lifting. The claimant's injury was found to be compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law, with a weekly compensation rate of $384.62 established by agreement.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision that denied workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee's fall arose out of and in the course of her employment. The case involved a 68-year-old nurse with preexisting back conditions from a 1983 herniated disc injury and 1993 motor vehicle accident, with the Second Injury Fund's liability remaining at issue.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying workers' compensation benefits to Yolanda Harris for an alleged occupational disease. The Commission found that the claimant's condition did not arise out of and in the course of her employment as a customer service representative, despite proper notice and timely filing.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to employee Shirlane Horton, finding that her alleged injury to the left upper extremity from grabbing a patient lift bar or repetitive trauma as a housekeeper did not arise out of and in the course of employment. No compensation was awarded.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying all workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee failed to establish that an injury by accident or occupational disease arose out of and in the course of employment. The employee, a housekeeper, alleged injury to her left upper extremity either by grabbing a patient lift bar or through repetitive trauma, but the evidence did not support compensability under Missouri workers' compensation law.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to employee Tammy Edgerton for an alleged lung injury from breathing fumes while cleaning a bathroom. The Commission found that the alleged injury did not arise out of and in the course of employment and therefore was not compensable under Missouri law.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying compensation because the employee failed to prove he sustained an accident as defined by Missouri law, with the judge finding the employee's testimony about the alleged December 20, 2011 workplace accident to lack credibility. All other issues were deemed moot due to the employee's failure to establish an accident or pursue an alternative occupational disease theory.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation to Jon Phillips, a forklift driver employed for 32 years, who sustained a left hip fracture when he fell off a shallow graded ramp while entering the break room on October 14, 2013. The Court found the injury arose out of and in the course of his employment, as he fell while performing a routine work-related task in a work area with an unsafe condition (no safety rail).

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, finding that the employee is entitled to past medical expenses for treatment related to his cervical spine strain injury from a May 24, 2012 motor vehicle accident. The employee was awarded 7.5% permanent partial disability of the cervical spine, though the Commission addressed the issue of medical expense liability that the ALJ had denied.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision that denied workers' compensation benefits based on alleged refusal to submit to drug testing. The employee actually did submit to the drug test after initial hesitation due to concerns about marijuana exposure at a social event, and there was no evidence the injury was related to substance use.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation to Barbara Head for an occupational disease injury involving her left arm and shoulder sustained during employment at Harley-Davidson. The injury arose from both a machine malfunction incident and repetitive trauma from lifting and manipulating motorcycle gas tanks, with the occupational exposure determined to be the prevailing factor in causing the medical condition and disability.

The Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award to allow workers' compensation benefits for mesothelioma, an occupational disease caused by toxic exposure during employment. The Court determined that the surviving spouse of the deceased employee is entitled to mesothelioma benefits under Missouri's 2014 statutory amendments, with liability fixed as of the diagnosis date rather than exposure date.