All Decisions

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Dale Welty for alleged hearing loss and tinnitus allegedly caused by occupational noise exposure. The claim was found to be non-compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Allen Sparks for an occupational disease claim, finding that the employee satisfied the statutory notice requirements under § 287.420 RSMo. The Commission disagreed with the administrative law judge's reasoning on burden of proof regarding notice but reached the same conclusion that the facts clearly established timely notice was provided.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation to Marilyn Szigeti for injuries to both upper extremities sustained on June 1, 2010, while employed by the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. The award totaled $70,315.49, including medical bills, temporary disability benefits, and permanent disability compensation of 30% for each arm at the elbow.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying compensation, finding that the denial was supported by competent and substantial evidence and complied with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law. The employee's request to submit approximately 650 pages of additional evidence was denied as the documents were not newly discovered and should have been presented at the original hearing.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee failed to meet his burden of proving he suffered an accident at work due to numerous unexplained inconsistencies between his testimony and medical treatment records. Because the claim was denied on the issue of accident, the employer is not liable for any medical bills or compensation benefits.

The Missouri LIRC modified its January 14, 2014 award in this workers' compensation case involving employee Tina Collins following a settlement agreement reached while an appeal was pending before the Court of Appeals. The modifications confirmed that the December 15, 2001 work accident aggravated the employee's preexisting dysthymic disorder and that she requires additional treatment for back and SI joint injuries, while denying compensability for alleged motor vehicle and fall injuries occurring in 2002 and 2009 respectively.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits for Michael Tracy's low back injury claim, finding the claim was barred by the statute of limitations. Although Tracy experienced a compensable workplace injury on February 20, 2009, while stocking shelves, his claim for compensation was not filed within the time required by law.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to Ronald A. Lawrence II for a low back injury. However, the Commission found that the employee failed to meet his burden of proving entitlement to permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund due to insufficient evidence regarding psychiatric factors and medical necessity documentation.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, affirming the denial of permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund while clarifying that employee's permanent partial disability from the last injury does not combine with prior conditions to create total disability. The decision also addresses enhanced permanent partial disability calculations in accordance with Missouri Supreme Court precedent regarding Second Injury Fund liability.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation for an occupational disease claim by David A. Trimmer against Johnson Controls, Inc. The Commission determined that the claim was not barred by res judicata doctrine and that the employer failed to present additional significant evidence to modify the temporary award.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits, finding that the employee's claimed injury was not merely an exacerbation of a preexisting condition but a compensable work-related injury. The employee, a 54-year-old car hauler with multiple preexisting conditions including a prior 2003 low back injury requiring fusion surgery, was entitled to compensation for his primary injury on January 31, 2005.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits for John Mattison's work-related left wrist strain/sprain and left knee contusion injuries sustained on January 3, 2002, while cutting tree limbs at the employer's summer camp. A dissenting opinion argued the decision should be modified to award permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund based on the combination of the work injury and multiple preexisting disabling conditions.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's award that the employee's permanent total disability resulted solely from his work-related lumbar spine injury, finding instead that the disability resulted from a combination of the work injury and preexisting lumbar spine conditions. The employee, who had documented orthopedic problems since 1996, suffered a lift-and-twist accident on January 25, 2007, and the issue was whether the work injury alone or the injury combined with preexisting disabilities caused permanent total disability.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's denial of compensation benefits for Helen Peek's October 30, 2010 work injury while assisting a patient at Western Missouri Medical Center. Although the injury to the left upper extremity, neck and back was found compensable under Chapter 287, the case was denied as to compensation awards and Second Injury Fund liability.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to Tracy Whorton for injuries sustained when she slipped and fell in the employer's icy parking lot while retrieving work gloves. The court found the employee's injuries arose out of and in the course of employment as they resulted from a risk specific to her employment activities, distinguishing the case from non-employment hazards.

The Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award to allow compensation for future medical treatment for the employee's work-related back injury. The decision recognizes the employee's need for ongoing conservative medical care including medications, physical therapy, and injections, while finding that additional surgery is not presently indicated based on the medical evidence presented.

The Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award to clarify that return to work is only one factor in permanent total disability analysis and is not evidence of ability to compete in the open labor market. The Commission reversed the denial of future medical care, finding that the employee need only show reasonable probability rather than conclusive evidence that future treatment is necessary for work-related effects.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying compensation to Teresa Parks, who alleged she was an employee providing personal care attendant services under the Consumer Directed Services program. The Commission found that Parks was not an employee of the Independent Living Center but rather worked under the direction of Medicaid's CDS program, lacking the requisite employer-employee relationship under Missouri workers' compensation law.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award denying workers' compensation benefits to the estate of Marty Warren, who died in an accident while assisting his father David Warren with siding work. The court found that although Warren was in service of the employer at the time of the accident, the evidence did not establish an employer-employee relationship under Missouri workers' compensation law due to insufficient control by the employer.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, increasing past medical expenses and addressing future medical treatment liability for employee Denise Locklin's workers' compensation case. The Commission found the ALJ inadvertently excluded certain medical charges totaling $1,544.00 that the employee was entitled to recover from the employer.

The Missouri LIRC affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award finding that the employee Mike Brune sustained a compensable occupational disease to his bilateral hands from repetitive work as an Assembly Tech on June 1, 2004. The employer and self-insurer are ordered to provide all required benefits including medical treatment and temporary total disability, with the award being temporary/partial pending final determination.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to Katy Dierks for a left knee injury sustained on January 17, 2009, when she tripped over an air hose at work. The employer/insurer was ordered to pay $26,972.70 for 25% permanent partial disability and unpaid temporary total disability, with the Second Injury Fund liable for permanent and total disability benefits.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits for permanent total disability from the Second Injury Fund. Although the employee's own medical experts opined he was permanently and totally disabled from the primary back injury alone, he failed to establish entitlement to Second Injury Fund liability.

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 Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Conrad Priest for a right knee injury sustained on August 16, 2011, while changing machine parts at Piramal Glass. The injury, which occurred when the employee heard and felt a loud pop in his right knee while working, was found to be compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law.