workers compensation

Worker’s Compensation – $595,000.00 Lump Sum Settlement St. Louis Attorney Thomas J. Gregory

Posted on by Thomas Gregory

I represented a union plumber in 2005 who sustained an on the job injury to his low back that required surgery.  We reached an excellent settlement of his worker’s compensation claim and my client recovered successfully from the surgery and continued in his career as a plumber.

He returned to see me in 2017 after sustaining a knee injury that also involved a related condition known as deep vein thrombosis.  My client was now 61 years old, and after his knee surgery, he found it difficult to get back to work.

We went to trial before an Administrative Law Judge against the Employer/Insurer and the Missouri Second Injury Fund and alleged that my client could not return to any work based on his age, education and work experience, and was therefore permanently and totally disabled and entitled to lifetime benefits.  Both opposing sides argued that my client could do other lighter work, and therefore, would only be entitled to a one-time payment of permanent partial disability benefits, not lifetime benefits.  They also argued that if the employee was found to be permanently and totally disabled, it would be the responsibility of the other party.  If my client was found to be permanently and totally disabled from the last injury (the knee injury and deep vein thrombosis), then the Employer would be responsible for lifetime benefits.  If the total disability was found to be the result of the last injury in combination with the prior back injury, the Second Injury Fund would owe for lifetime benefits after the Employer paid for any disability related to the last injury.

The Administrative Law Judge found that my client was permanently and totally disabled and entitled to lifetime benefits and found the Employer/Insurer, not the Second Injury Fund, to be responsible for those benefits.  The Employer/Insurer filed an appeal with the Industrial Commission of Missouri, which upheld the decision of the Administrative Law Judge.

Following the Commission’s decision, the Employer/Insurer agreed to pay a lump sum of $595,000.00 to my client in lieu of the future payments based on life expectancy tables, and in addition, also agreed to provide future medical treatment as needed for the injuries he sustained in the work-related injury as awarded by the Administrative Law Judge.

If you or a loved one has been injured on the job, please call Attorney Thomas Gregory at 314-241-4477.

St. Louis Missouri Mesothelioma Lawyer Discussing Asbestos Exposure Cases

Posted on by David G. Hughes

In a recent Supreme Court of Missouri Appeal case (Accident Fund Insurance Company; E.J. Cody Company, Inc. v. Robert Casey, Employee/Dolores Murphy), The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Employee. Robert Casey died from mesothelioma caused by repeated exposure to asbestos in the workplace. Before his death, Mr. Casey worked as a floor tile installer and filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits, with which his widow, Ms. Murphy, proceeded following his death. The Missouri Supreme Court stated “Due to his extensive asbestos exposure, Mr. Casey was diagnosed with mesothelioma in the fall of 2014. He filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits against his Employer in February 2015. At the time he filed the claim, Employer was covered under an insurance policy purchased from Insurer. The policy included an endorsement titled “Missouri Notification of Additional Mesothelioma Benefits Endorsement,” providing in pertinent part: Section 287.200.4, subdivision (3), of the Missouri Revised Statutes provides additional benefits in the case of occupational diseases due to toxic exposure that are diagnosed to be mesothelioma and result in permanent total disability or death. Your policy provides insurance for these additional benefits. By accepting this policy, Employer opted in to liability coverage for the additional mesothelioma benefits provided by Section 287.200.4, which allows for enhanced compensation for “all [mesothelioma] claims filed on or after January 1, 2014.”

The Missouri’s workers’ compensation law was amended in 2014 to provide enhanced compensation for individuals diagnosed with occupational diseases such as mesothelioma. Section 287.200.4(3). Coverage is provided for “all claims filed on or after January 1, 2014, for occupational diseases due to toxic exposure which result in a permanent total disability or death.” Section 287.200.4. Employers may either accept or reject liability for mesothelioma. If an employer elects to accept liability, it must insure its “entire liability” under the act, which includes accepting all of the act’s provisions. In other words, an insurer cannot avoid certain liabilities by constructing its policy to exclude certain provisions of the workers’ compensation statute and cover only the provisions it prefers. The Supreme Court concluded that because Mr. Casey’s exposure to asbestos occurred while he was employed by E.J. Cody Company, Inc. (“Employer”), its insurer, Accident Fund National Insurance Company (“Insurer”), was liable since the employer purchased a policy which was meant to cover all of the employer’s workers’ compensation liability, and which included a mesothelioma endorsement to cover all liability arising out of any mesothelioma claims filed on our after January 1, 2014.

The Missouri Supreme Court found that the standard policy provision which limits liability for exposure injuries to those which were caused by exposure during the policy period was modified by the addition of the mesothelioma endorsement. The Court observed that to rule otherwise would make the mesothelioma endorsement “essentially worthless”.

When you or a family member has been diagnosed with Mesothelioma, our dedicated lawyers can help. Mogab & Hughes Attorneys has been in business for 55 years and has handled numerous work and non-work related mesothelioma cases. If you need help, contact Attorney David Hughes at 314-241-4477 or email davidhughes@mogabandhughes.com. We offer a free consultation, extensive knowledge in asbestos related diseases and laws, and will thoroughly investigate, research, and gather evidence for your Mesothelioma case.

 

INSURANCE COMPANY OFFERS $750, WE SETTLE FOR $50,000

Posted on by Thomas Gregory

I was representing a client in two worker’s compensation claims against the same employer, one involving her right shoulder and the other involving her low back.  The employer-insurer provided treatment and it was determined that no surgery was necessary and the client was released to return to work at full duty at her regular job.

On her first morning back to work after being released by the worker’s compensation doctor, while attempting to make a left turn into the plant where she was employed, she was struck from the rear by another vehicle, and she alleged that she re-injured her low back.  Since she was not yet on the job, worker’s compensation would not cover her injury, and therefore, she looked to the driver of the vehicle that struck her from behind for compensation for her injuries.  My client received a letter from the claims adjuster for State Farm Insurance Company, which insured the vehicle that struck her, which stated as follows: “Based on the documentation you have provided, we have extended an offer of settlement of $750.00.”  Attached to the offer was a copy of a photograph of the rear of plaintiff’s vehicle taken by State Farm which basically showed no damage at all to my client’s vehicle.  State Farm took the position that this was a low speed, low impact collision with little or no damage to the client’s vehicle.  The letter also pointed out that since the client had just been released from treatment for her low back injury, it was State Farm’s position that no new injury had occurred.

I agreed to represent my worker’s compensation client in her claim against the other driver and immediately filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County, where the accident occurred.  I alleged in my lawsuit that the MRI of my client’s low back taken before the accident showed a bulging disc at the L4-5 level from the work-related injury and an MRI of my client’s low back taken after the accident showed that the low speed, low impact collision caused the bulging disc to progress into a herniated disc.  The insurance company’s expert witness orthopedic surgeon opined that the MRI performed before the accident and the MRI performed after the accident were exactly the same and showed no new injury and that the rear-end collision caused my client to sustain only a minor strain, which should have cleared up within about six weeks.  All of the doctors agreed that the plaintiff was not a candidate for low back surgery because the disc was not causing any impingement on a nerve root.

After depositions of the doctors were taken and as the trial date was approaching, the case, which originated with a $750.00 offer from State Farm, was ultimately settled for my client for the amount of $50,000.00, which was the policy limits of State Farm’s insured driver.  In addition, I obtained additional settlements in my client’s two worker’s compensation claims totaling $28,626.00, for a total recovery in all of her claims in the amount of $78,626.00.

If you have been injured in a workers compensation or other accident and would like to speak with an experienced attorney, please call Thomas Gregory at Mogab & Hughes Attorneys at 314-241-4477.