Denial of Workers' Compensation Benefits

Recently, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to an employee who had a pre-existing condition that he argued was aggravated by a work-related incident. The administrative law judge that heard the case determined that the work-related incident did not cause the underlying problem, and the condition was related to a pre-existing injury and thus was not compensable.

The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the administrative determination in Smith v. Donco Construction. Clearly, since the legislative changes took place in late 2005 there has been a shift in the interpretation of the law which is less favorable for the injured workers.