All Decisions

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award regarding an employee's hernia claim arising from workplace injury at Dial Corporation. The Commission affirmed that the injury arose out of and in the course of employment but required additional findings under § 287.195 RSMo regarding the elements of proof for hernia compensation claims.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for an employee who sustained a severe comminuted calcaneus fracture with subtalar joint involvement after falling eight feet from a roof while attempting to remove guttering. The employee was found to have suffered a compensable work-related injury resulting in 33% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits for Jeanne Wilson's left knee injury sustained in a slip and fall on September 30, 2008 at Park Terrace. The employee was awarded 56 weeks of permanent partial disability (35% left knee) and permanent total disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund at $205.50 per week.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award denying workers' compensation benefits, despite finding that the employee did sustain an accident when she fell while descending restaurant stairs on July 10, 2008. The employee was attending a work-related business dinner meeting, but the Commission ultimately upheld the denial of compensation.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award granting workers' compensation benefits to James Ryan for a left shoulder injury sustained on July 27, 2007 while operating a lift at work. The award includes 23.2 weeks of permanent partial disability compensation totaling $9,025.73, and the Second Injury Fund claim was denied.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award by denying the employee's entitlement to future medical treatment, finding that any ongoing treatment needed relates to her preexisting COPD rather than the work-related pneumonia. The employee's work-related pneumonia injury was allowed for compensation, but employer liability for future medical care was reversed based on Dr. Barkman's more persuasive testimony.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, adopting Dr. Cohen's opinion that the July 17, 2000 work accident caused an aggravation of the employee's low back condition resulting in 7.5% permanent partial disability, while also recognizing preexisting conditions including spondylolisthesis and coronary artery disease. The Commission found employer liable for $82,588.03 in past medical expenses, including low back surgery, as the treatment was reasonable and necessary to cure and relieve the effects of the work injury.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of permanent total disability compensation to employee Carolyn Brashers for a January 2009 work injury, finding that the injury caused new and additional permanent limitations including increased pain and difficulty with prolonged sitting and walking. The Commission rejected the Second Injury Fund's argument that the employee was already permanently and totally disabled before the primary injury, holding that the employee's pre-injury employment demonstrated her ability to compete in the labor market and that the injury caused measurable additional disability.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing workers' compensation benefits to employee Virgil Russom for permanent partial disabilities to his cervical spine (10%), right shoulder (25%), and left wrist (15%) resulting from a work injury. The decision addresses Second Injury Fund liability and determines that the employee's need to lie down to control pain, stemming from the work injury, renders him permanently and totally disabled.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Wilson F. Turner for injuries sustained on January 1, 1999, when he slipped and fell on excavator tracks, injuring his spine, groin area, and mental health. The employee was determined to have permanent total disability and is entitled to ongoing medical care and compensation.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to James K. Pippen for a work-related injury resulting in permanent partial disabilities of the lumbar spine (20%), cervical spine (7.5%), and psychiatric injury (30%). The Commission found that the employee's need to lie down to control pain resulted from both the 2002 work injury and a preexisting low back condition, thereby limiting employer liability for total permanent disability benefits.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Roy Blair for a left hand injury sustained while cutting steel on May 25, 2011. The employee was awarded 8.75 weeks of permanent partial disability and 5 weeks of disfigurement compensation totaling $5,755.48.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits despite finding the June 25, 2009 incident compensable, determining it was not the prevailing factor in the employee's low back and right leg complaints. No compensation was awarded for temporary disability, permanent disability, or Second Injury Fund liability.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Barry Wimberly for a neck injury caused when a fellow employee dropped a 100-200 pound hose from a 25-30 foot roof onto his head. The claimant was found to be permanently and totally disabled as a result of the accident, with the employer/insurer ordered to pay underpaid temporary disability benefits and necessary medical aid.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Richard Gilpin for a low back injury sustained on July 13, 2009 while pushing a cart at work. The employee was awarded permanent total disability benefits of $645.23 per week for life, with all past and future medical care to be provided by the employer and insurer.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Ken Ruch for a low back injury sustained on December 8, 2009, when he fell and was struck by crates of milk at Prairie Farms Dairy. The claimant was awarded 41.32 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits totaling $17,477.12 from the Second Injury Fund.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's decision and awarded compensation to employee Alan Holeman for a work-related accident on August 24, 2009, finding that the accident was the prevailing factor in causing his neck injury and disability despite a preexisting 1996 cervical spine injury. The employee, who had worked for the employer for over 30 years and maintained work restrictions following prior surgery, was entitled to benefits for the work-related aggravation of his cervical condition.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award allowing permanent and total disability compensation for George Sutton's bilateral upper extremity injuries sustained on January 28, 2001, finding that the effects combined synergistically with his preexisting conditions to result in greater disability. The Commission found the Second Injury Fund not liable because the experts' opinions on permanent total disability included effects of a subsequently dismissed claim.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying permanent total disability compensation to George Sutton, finding that while he was permanently and totally disabled from injuries sustained on January 28, 2001, he failed to meet his burden of proving the Second Injury Fund was liable. The decision upheld the denial because Sutton had voluntarily dismissed his claim against the Second Injury Fund as part of his settlement with his employer.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award, finding the employee sustained 85% permanent partial disability of the body as a whole referable to low back injury, radicular symptoms, and psychiatric complaints. The decision addresses preexisting psychiatric disabilities and establishes permanent total disability resulting from the combination of preexisting limitations and the primary work injury.

The LIRC affirmed the administrative law judge's award allowing permanent and total disability compensation for George Sutton's right knee injury, finding that Dr. Margolis's opinion that preexisting conditions (polio and degenerative disc disease) combine synergistically with the primary injury was persuasive. The Commission affirmed the decision while noting that Sutton failed to prove the Second Injury Fund's liability because the January 2001 subsequent injury was voluntarily dismissed as part of the settlement.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to a bus driver who suffered neck, low back, and right shoulder injuries when a drunk driver crashed into the trolley she was driving in 2005. The award included past medical expenses paid by the Second Injury Fund, though a dissenting opinion argued the employee should also receive prejudgment interest on those expenses.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation to employee Joanna Mayo for injuries sustained from a fall caused by a sticky floor in the employer's break room on July 22, 2010. The Commission found that the employee's injuries arose out of and in the course of employment because they resulted from an abnormal and hazardous condition specific to the workplace, not a risk equally present in normal nonemployment life.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Ronald McKinley for bilateral DeQuervain's syndrome and trigger fingers developed during his employment as a glazer. The Commission awarded $7,890.87 in compensation based on 27 percent permanent disability to the body as a whole, with the Second Injury Fund liable for the claim.