Filtered Decisions

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Thomas Walker for a low back injury sustained on August 15, 2014, when he slipped on a muddy hillside at the St. Louis Zoological Park. Walker was awarded permanent partial disability compensation of 20 percent of the body as a whole referable to the low back, with ongoing weekly payments.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award of temporary partial disability compensation for an employee injured while working as a cuber operator at Oldcastle, Inc. The employer's termination based on alleged misconduct (frequent absenteeism) was found insufficient to bar compensation, as the employee had legitimate absences related to her work injury and medical care.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's temporary award allowing compensation of $824,242.26 to employee Cheryl Hayden. The Commission rejected the employer's due process and equal protection constitutional challenges, finding they were not properly raised at the administrative level and that the workers' compensation statutory scheme has been upheld by Missouri courts.

The Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's decision denying workers' compensation benefits to Michael Thomson for an injury sustained when he missed the last rung of a ladder and landed on his right foot. The Commission found that while an accident occurred, the accident did not constitute a substantial factor in causing the resulting medical condition, but rather was merely a triggering or precipitating factor under Missouri workers' compensation law.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to employee Ollie Hickmon for a work-related injury sustained on April 10, 2013, while lifting a repaired pallet at Propak Logistics. The decision awarded permanent total disability benefits beginning March 23, 2016, at a weekly rate of $501.06 for the remainder of the claimant's lifetime.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's award finding that the employee's left shoulder/arm injury sustained while installing a gas tank on July 6, 2017 was compensable under Missouri workers' compensation law. The Commission issued a temporary award ordering the employer/insurer to provide necessary medical treatment, with proceedings kept open for future final award determination.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to the employee, finding that the award was supported by competent and substantial evidence and in accordance with Missouri Workers' Compensation Law. The decision clarified disputed issues regarding maximum medical improvement determinations for psychiatric symptoms and future medical expenses for left arm injury, rejecting the employee's claims regarding Second Injury Fund liability and future medical treatment needs for the left arm.

The Commission reversed the administrative law judge's decision that the uninsured employer was not subject to Missouri Workers' Compensation Law due to insufficient employees. The Commission found the employer had five employees on the date of injury (February 13, 2014), thereby making the employer liable for the employee's work-related shoulder and cervical spine injuries.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award denying workers' compensation benefits based on lack of jurisdiction under the Missouri Workers' Compensation Act. The Commission found that the employee's inconsistent testimony regarding work location, combined with evidence that the employer's principal operations were in Kansas and the employee reported daily to Kansas headquarters, failed to establish that the employee worked primarily in Missouri.

The Commission modified the administrative law judge's award to include temporary total disability benefits of $231.92 that the parties had stipulated to, despite the ALJ's failure to award them despite finding a work-related injury. The Commission affirmed the ALJ's findings regarding the work-related heat exhaustion and dehydration injury on July 22, 2011, and the 5% permanent partial disability award, while supplementing the decision on medical causation and past medical expenses.

The LIRC affirmed the ALJ's award denying workers' compensation to Mary Kay Hazeltine, who sustained a head and shoulder injury when a screw gun fell on her at a GM assembly plant on June 15, 2012. The case involved disputed liability between the employer/insurer (who settled for partial disability) and the Second Injury Fund regarding permanent total disability claims.

The Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits for a high school teacher who fell in a school entryway on January 8, 2013. The denial was based on the employee's lack of credible testimony and insufficient objective medical evidence to support causation, with the judge finding her injury descriptions verged on malingering.

The Commission reversed the Administrative Law Judge's award of 23.398 weeks of permanent partial disability benefits from the Second Injury Fund for an occupational disease claim (carpal tunnel syndrome). Under Missouri law § 287.220.3, occupational disease claims filed after January 1, 2014 are barred from seeking permanent partial disability benefits against the Second Injury Fund.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission modified the Administrative Law Judge's award in a workers' compensation case involving Danny L. Harris, who sustained a low back injury arising out of his employment with Ralls County on March 9, 2009. The Commission modified the ALJ's determinations regarding medical causation, the nature and extent of disability, and future medical benefits.

The LIRC reversed the ALJ's award of workers' compensation benefits to the spouse of a deceased funeral home worker, finding insufficient evidence that the worker was an employee or that an accident occurred within the course and scope of employment on April 17, 2017. The commission determined that the worker's status as a casual laborer and the circumstances of the incident did not meet the statutory requirements for workers' compensation coverage.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation to Steven L. Wright for a stroke suffered while climbing seven flights of stairs during employment. The employer's late filing of an answer resulted in admission of facts that the injury occurred in the course of employment and that the physical exertion was the prevailing factor in causing the stroke.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the administrative law judge's award of workers' compensation benefits to Leon S. Essmyer, Jr. for a right foot injury caused by metal falling on his foot on April 7, 2014, while employed at American Railcar Industries. The employee was awarded temporary total disability compensation, permanent partial disability benefits, and necessary medical aid totaling over $144,000.

The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission affirmed the Administrative Law Judge's denial of workers' compensation benefits for Richard E. Peeler's claimed carpal tunnel syndrome injury. The Commission found that the employee failed to establish that carpal tunnel syndrome arose out of employment rather than being caused by his pre-existing diabetes condition.

The Commission modified the ALJ's award in a workers' compensation case involving Kendall Halterman, who sustained fatal injuries when he slipped and fell approximately ten to twelve feet while cleaning a dump truck on June 2, 2010. The Commission affirmed that the employee was permanently and totally disabled from the injury until his death, and liability for medical expenses totaling $48,288.50 was awarded, with the Second Injury Fund determined liable for a portion of those costs.