Workers’ Compensation: Second Injury Fund - Past Medical Benefits - Payment To Claimant 
Skinner v. Morgan, et al. (MLW No. 60332/Case No. SD30019 - 8 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, Lynch, P.J.)
Where the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission ordered the Second Injury Fund to pay a claimant for his past medical benefits instead of making payment to the medical providers, which the fund argued was erroneous, [...]
Workers’ Compensation: Compensable Injury - Extended Premises Doctrine - Control
Hager v. Syberg’s Westport (MLW No. 60244/Case No. ED93420 - 11 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Draper III, J.)
Where a restaurant cook was injured when he slipped on ice in the parking lot leaving work, the commission properly found that the injury was not compensable because it did not arise out of and [...]
Workers’ Compensation: Compensable Injury - Non-Work Activity - Benefit To Employer
Henry v. Precision Apparatus, Inc. (MLW No. 60258/Case No. SD29772 - 3 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Southern District, Rahmeyer, J.)
Where a worker broke his leg while helping a co-worker change a tire in their employer’s work bay shortly before his shift began, the commission did not err in determining there was no benefit to [...]
Unanimous jury awards injured railroad engineer
A 4 mph jolt translated into a $3.18 million verdict for a Burlington Northern engineer who injured his back.
A unanimous St. Louis County jury made the award to John Walsh after a four-day trial. Walsh was injured when another train struck the one he was working on.
Walsh claimed Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. was [...]
Workers’ Compensation: Compensable Injury - Credibility Determinations - Commission Authority
Snyder v. Consolidated Library District No. 3 and Guarantee Insurance Company (MLW No. 60194/Case No. WD70641 - 8 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Hardwick, J.)
Where the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission reversed an award of workers’ compensation benefits without holding its own evidentiary hearing, the statute does not require the commission to hold [...]
Workers’ Compensation: Causation - Medical Testimony - Factual Issues Undecided
Spencer v. SAC Osage Electric Co-Op, Inc. (MLW No. 60198/Case No. WD70443 - 18 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, Ahuja, J.)
Where a worker’s compensation claimant who was diagnosed with an inflammation of the scrotum and penis argued that the condition was work-related, resulting from exposure to transformer oil, the administrative law judge erred [...]
Nurse gets work comp for trip while on-the-job
An appeals court quietly explained last week why it gave an employee a rare win under the state’s revised workers’ compensation laws.
The Missouri Court of Appeals Western District issued an opinion Tuesday that a Kansas City nurse could receive workers’ compensation after she injured her ankle while wearing work-related shoes.
“Accepting that she did not wear [...]
Workers’ comp award granted for stress disorder
A St. Louis attorney was able to secure workers’ compensation for a client suffering post-traumatic stress disorder after counseling others after Sept. 11.
The confidential employee worked as an employee assistance counselor for a company in Missouri and was sent to New York City shortly after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to counsel victims.
While he [...]
Engineer wins $3.2M verdict
A 4 mph jolt translated into a $3.18 million verdict for a Burlington Northern engineer who injured his back.
A unanimous St. Louis County jury made the award to John Walsh Thursday after a four-day trial. Walsh was injured when the train he was working on was struck by another.
Walsh claimed Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway [...]
Ruling moves diseases out of workers’ comp
To those wondering how much the workers’ compensation landscape has changed, at least two courts have weighed in on one aspect: They held that occupational disease claims are no longer the domain of workers’ comp.
Two judges in St. Louis Circuit Court denied defense motions to redirect a family’s lawsuit over a man’s death - from [...]