Workers' Compensation Blog | St. Joseph Injury Lawyer

7

Aug 2019

Workers’ Compensation Case Overturned on Appeal for Rare Credibility Problem

An appeals court in Missouri overturned a workers’ compensation decision that denied coverage for a high school teacher’s injuries. The reasons why the workers’ compensation was originally denied, though, raises some serious questions about how these cases are being decided in Missouri. High School Teacher Falls, Gets Hurt, and Is Denied Workers’ Compensation On January 8, 2013, an ESL teacher ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

24

Jul 2019

Do Employers Have to Pay for Second Injury Fund Injuries, Now?

The dust is beginning to settle from the fallout of the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision in the workers’ compensation case, Cosby v. Treasurer of Missouri . Perhaps the most interesting possibility is that the Supreme Court has made employers liable for injuries that would have been covered by Missouri’s Second Injury Fund . Missouri Supreme Court Strictly Construes Workers’ Compensation Laws ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

10

Jul 2019

Workers’ Compensation and Separation of Powers

A workers’ compensation case from Florida is being appealed to the state’s supreme court. While the case comes from Florida, its claims could impact the process of Missouri’s workers’ compensation laws because of similarities in our workers’ compensation systems. Failed Shoulder Surgery Leads to Numerous Medical Opinions The victim was an elementary school worker who partially tore her rotator ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

12

Jun 2019

Shifts in Politics and Workers’ Compensation Law

Each state has its own laws and regulations that deal with workers’ compensation . Some states tilt the law more towards hurt workers, while others favor business interests, like in Missouri. As the political atmosphere changes, workers’ compensation laws tend to follow. The state of Maine is going through just such a change, now. Amendments to the state’s workers’ compensation structure are ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

29

May 2019

Workers’ Compensation Trial After Bulldozing Death

A trial in California is going to settle some important questions about workers’ compensation in the state. Workers’ Compensation Trial Over Death of Firefighter On trial is Ian Czirban , the owner of Czirban Concrete Construction. His company contracted with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) to provide firefighting services during the Big Sur Fire back in 2016. ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

15

May 2019

What is the Workers’ Compensation Trade-Off?

We frequently refer to workers’ compensation in Missouri as a “trade-off” involving employers and employees. But what gets traded, and why? What Employees Give Up for Workers’ Compensation The biggest thing that employees give up is their ability to sue their employers in court with a personal injury lawsuit . In many workplace injury situations, the employer contributed to the injury at least in ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

1

May 2019

Workers Hurt in Rural Areas More Likely to Be Prescribed Opioids

A study investigating workers’ compensation in Missouri found that injured workers in rural areas were more likely to be prescribed opioids than urban workers. The discrepancy is not insignificant, though there are numerous factors that could be in play. Study Investigates Opioid Prescriptions After Workplace Injuries The study was conducted by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute . It ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

17

Apr 2019

2 Filing Deadlines for Workers’ Compensation Claims

In many ways, workers’ compensation claims are even more complex than typical personal injury claims. While the workers’ compensation scheme is designed to streamline the process of recovering compensation, it often involves more paperwork. Worse, that paperwork comes from both you and your employer, and goes to both your employer and the Missouri Department of Labor . Even the deadlines can be ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

3

Apr 2019

Can Flooding Volunteers Get Workers’ Compensation?

As record flooding continues in and around St. Joseph, Missouri, volunteers have scrambled to help those affected. One way volunteers have helped is by filling sandbags in the worst-hit areas of Missouri. Unfortunately, filling sandbags is not light work, and volunteers – especially those unfamiliar with the work – frequently get hurt doing it. This raises the question: Are volunteers covered by ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

20

Mar 2019

Workers’ Compensation Insurance to Decrease 3.5%

The costs of workers’ compensation insurance premiums continue to drop. The steady decline is just another sign of the difficulties that injured workers face after they get hurt on the job. How Workers’ Compensation Insurance Works When workers get hurt while on the job, they can often file a workers’ compensation claim with their employer. If approved, this claim will lead to payments that cover ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

6

Mar 2019

Workers’ Compensation May Get Firefighter’s Presumption

A new bill is making its way through the Missouri Legislature that would change workers’ compensation law to better cover firefighters, who have a heightened risk of job-related cancer. House Bill 1641 Would Extend Firefighter Presumption to Workers’ Compensation Law We covered the presumptive disability law for firefighters earlier in our blog. This law, Missouri Statute 87.006 , presumes that ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

6

Feb 2019

Workers’ Compensation for Pedestrian Hit in Parking Lot?

A pedestrian was hit and seriously hurt in a parking lot in Raytown, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. Details surrounding the car accident suggest that workers’ compensation will also become implicated. Pedestrian Hit in School Parking Lot The incident happened early in the morning of February 6, 2019. According to initial reports, a 69-year-old woman was hit in the parking lot of a school in ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

30

Jan 2019

Another Workplace Safety Rule Quietly and Quickly Scrapped

Despite the government shutdown, the Office of Management and Budget was able to jam through a huge change to a critical regulation that protects workplace safety. The timing and the speed with which the amendments were made are suspicious, and the impact on workplace accidents and workers’ compensation are significant. The Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Rule One of the ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

23

Jan 2019

Second Injury Fund Case Reaches Missouri Supreme Court

The Missouri Supreme Court is currently deciding how to rule on a case that challenges Senate Bill 1 – a piece of legislation from 2014 that drastically altered how the Second Injury Fund works. How the court handles the case will significantly impact the workers’ compensation rights of everyone in St. Joseph and the rest of Missouri. An Overview of the Second Injury Fund We covered the Second ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

9

Jan 2019

Workers’ Compensation Hurt by Another Arbitration Clause Case

A recent Missouri Supreme Court case deals yet another blow to workers’ rights, and potentially to their workers’ compensation rights, by strengthening the power of arbitration clauses in employment contracts. Worker Signs Arbitration Clause, Gets Fired, Tries to Sue The case is Soars v. Easter Seals Midwest . In it, the employer hired the worker as an at-will employee. In order to be hired, ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

26

Dec 2018

Hurdles in Workers’ Compensation Laws on Display in New Case

A new workers’ compensation case from the Missouri Court of Appeals highlights how the law can seem like a maze. It also showcases how difficult it has become to prevent businesses from abusing loopholes in a system that has become designed to protect them. Spouse of Killed Worker Wins Death Benefits The situation involved a lab technologist who worked for the Capital Region Medical Center from ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

5

Dec 2018

Driver Hurt in Car Accident Denied Workers’ Compensation

A recent workers’ compensation case highlights the strict nature of the law in Missouri, especially when it comes to independent contractors, the self-employed, and workers who spend their time on the road. Self-Employed Driver Hurt in Car Accident The case involved a self-employed delivery driver. She had signed a contract to perform pickups and deliveries in her own car for a company in Kansas ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

28

Nov 2018

A Snowplow Driver’s Workers’ Compensation Rights

Winter has returned. This weekend’s snowstorm brought several inches of snow to the St. Joseph area, and nearly a foot in other parts of the region. The problems that come with clearing so much snow raise an important question: If a snowplow driver gets hurt, can they recover workers’ compensation ? Not only do car accidents happen with snowplows, but the physically demanding aspects of plowing ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

14

Nov 2018

Can Hurt Poll Workers Recover Workers’ Compensation?

The 2018 midterm election is now in the past in Missouri. For the thousands of poll workers who spent a long day helping voters cast their ballots, Election Day can be a grind. Carrying boxes of ballots is not light work. Worse, poll workers are prone to getting hurt because elections are rare, making it nearly impossible to adequately prepare or stay in shape, and because poll workers are often ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

30

Oct 2018

Missouri’s Second Injury Fund and Why It Will Be in the News

Workers’ compensation law in Missouri is among the trickiest to understand. There are a lot of moving parts, and how payments are made to injured workers is not very intuitive. One of these moving parts is the Second Injury Fund. Because it is not always implicated in a workplace injury, though, the Second Injury Fund can be confusing. However, it will likely be in the news over the next few ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

17

Oct 2018

Missouri Government Workers Unprotected by Workplace Safety Rules

The death of a public sector worker near Kansas City throws a harsh light onto a serious issue in workplace safety: Government employees in Missouri have no legal right to a safe workplace. The implications for workers’ compensation law in the state are dire. Liberty Public Worker Dies After Train Hits Truck The incident occurred this September, when two workers for the Parks and Recreation ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

3

Oct 2018

OSHA Fines St. Joseph Sawmill for Unsafe Conditions

A sawmill in St. Joseph, Missouri, has been heavily fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent workplace injuries. Totaling nearly $200,000, the fines are for a fatal accident at the mill back in March , and for safety violations found in a subsequent investigation. OSHA Fines St. Joseph Sawmill for Fatal Accident OSHA ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

19

Sep 2018

Suitcase Contents Impact Workers’ Compensation Coverage

A recent workers’ compensation case highlights how fact-intensive these claims can be. In this case, the particular issue was whether an employee was within the scope of her employment while she walked from the parking garage to her workstation. In the end, the result hinged on whether her wheeled suitcase was employment-related or not. Hospital Chemist Falls in Parking Lot The incident happened ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

5

Sep 2018

The Fatal Four of Construction Accidents

Out of all of the lines of work in Missouri, construction is one of the most dangerous. Construction accidents happen all the time in the state, leading to injured employees and workers’ compensation claims. Unfortunately, many construction accidents prove to be fatal. So many of these accidents happen for the same reasons that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) labels them ...

Posted By Smith Law Office

21

Aug 2018

Carpenter Gets Workers’ Compensation Coverage from General Contractor

A recent workers’ compensation case in Missouri highlights how the law can apply to less conventional employment schemes, like contractors and subcontractors. Carpenter Hurt on the Job Back in October, 2015, a homeowner in the Kansas City, Missouri area hired a Sunshine Home Improvements to do some work. Sunshine turned around and hired a subcontractor, Done-Rite Home Improvement, to do some of ...

Posted By Smith Law Office