December 29, 2011 (Press-News.org) Generally, under Missouri law, workers' compensation provides an "exclusive remedy" to employees who suffer work-related injuries. Thus, most workers must rely on workers' compensation benefits when they are injured on the job and generally are not able to bring a civil negligence lawsuit against their employers.
However, a recent state Court of Appeals decision has changed this rule as it relates to Missouri asbestos exposure victims and workers suffering from other occupational diseases. These injured workers are no longer limited by the workers' compensation "exclusive remedy rule."
Asbestos-Related Diseases not Caused by "Accident"
The case concerned a man who was diagnosed with mesothelioma after working for Kansas City Power and Light for 34 years. He claimed that he was frequently exposed to asbestos-containing products while working for KCP & L and brought negligence and premises liability claims against the company. He also sued 16 asbestos-products manufacturers and several "John Doe" defendants that allegedly contributed to his asbestos exposure.
KCP & L sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, claiming that the man was limited to the remedies provided by Missouri workers' compensation law.
The court disagreed. It noted that the language of the workers' compensation statute only calls for an exclusive remedy in claims arising from a work-related "accident." However, the language of the statute also differentiates between injuries caused by accident and injuries caused by occupational disease. Thus, because the man's mesothelioma was caused by an occupational disease and not an accident, he was not barred from suing his employer for negligence.
What Does This Mean for Injured Workers?
The Missouri Court of Appeals' ruling is a departure from earlier law and represents a great victory for Missouri workers who have contracted occupational diseases such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and certain cancers. It means that workers whose disease was caused by their employers' negligence may be entitled to recover compensation above and beyond that provided by workers' compensation. For example, they may be awarded damages for pain and suffering or lost earning capacity.
Asbestos-related claims are often extremely complex and involve multiple defendants in addition to the injured person's employer. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis or any other asbestos-related disease, it's important that you choose an experienced attorney who is well-versed in the details of asbestos litigation.
Article provided by Gori Julian & Associates PC
Visit us at www.gorijulianlaw.com/
Missouri Mesothelioma Victims Not Limited to Workers' Comp Claims
A recent Missouri Court of Appeals decision has changed the workers' compensation "exclusive remedy rule" as it relates to Missouri asbestos exposure victims and workers suffering from other occupational diseases.
2011-12-29
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Time for a change?
2011-12-29
Researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have discovered a way to make time stand still -- at least when it comes to the yearly calendar.
Using computer programs and mathematical formulas, Richard Conn Henry, an astrophysicist in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, and Steve H. Hanke, an applied economist in the Whiting School of Engineering, have created a new calendar in which each new 12-month period is identical to the one which came before, and remains that way from one year to the next in perpetuity.
Under the Hanke-Henry Permanent Calendar, for instance, ...
Badwater Basin: Death Valley microbe thrives there
2011-12-29
Nevada, the "Silver State," is well-known for mining precious metals.
But scientists Dennis Bazylinski and colleagues at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) do a different type of mining.
They sluice through every water body they can find, looking for new forms of microbial magnetism.
In a basin named Badwater on the edge of Death Valley National Park, Bazylinski and researcher Christopher Lefèvre hit pay dirt.
Lefèvre is with the French National Center of Scientific Research and University of Aix-Marseille II.
In this week's issue of the journal Science, ...
President Obama and leading GOP presidential candidate support health research
2011-12-29
WASHINGTON—December 27, 2011—Research!America's new national voter education initiative, Your Candidates-Your Health, features responses from President Obama and Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich on important health research and prevention issues. Among the highlights: both Obama and Gingrich agree that research to improve health and prevent disease is part of the solution to rising health care costs, and boosting investment in medical research creates jobs that benefit a wide variety of industries. Their positions on embryonic stem cell research differ. ...
A new theory emerges for where some fish became 4-limbed creatures
2011-12-29
EUGENE, Ore. -- A small fish crawling on stumpy limbs from a shrinking desert pond is an icon of can-do spirit, emblematic of a leading theory for the evolutionary transition between fish and amphibians. This theorized image of such a drastic adaptation to changing environmental conditions, however, may, itself, be evolving into a new picture.
University of Oregon scientist Gregory J. Retallack, professor of geological sciences, says that his discoveries at numerous sites in Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania suggests that "such a plucky hypothetical ancestor of ours ...
Frogs use calls to find mates with matching chromosomes, University of Missouri researchers find
2011-12-29
Columbia, MO – When it comes to love songs, female tree frogs are pretty picky. According to a new study from the University of Missouri, certain female tree frogs may be remarkably attuned to the songs of mates who share the same number of chromosomes as they do. The discovery offers insight into how new frog species may have evolved.
Carl Gerhardt, Curators Professor of Biological Sciences in the MU College of Arts and Science and doctoral student Mitch Tucker studied two closely related species of grey tree frogs that live in Missouri, the eastern grey tree frog (Hyla ...
Georgia Child Support Process
2011-12-29
The law requires parents to support their children financially, whether the parents live together or not. Whether the parents divorce or were never married, one of the ways that the law can ensure that children are provided for is through child support orders. Georgia parents looking to obtain child support orders should be aware of the steps they need to take to get and enforce child support orders.
Beginning a Child Support Case
Either parent can open a child support case with the Department of Human Services (DHS) by filling out an application for assistance and ...
To children (but not adults) a rose by any other name is still a rose
2011-12-29
Two vital parts of mentally organizing the world are classification, or the understanding that similar things belong in the same category; and induction, an educated guess about a thing's properties if it's in a certain category. There are reasons to believe that language greatly assists adults in both kinds of tasks. But how do young children use language to make sense of the things around them? It's a longstanding debate among psychologists.
A new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, challenges the predominant answer. ...
Members of small monkey groups more likely to fight
2011-12-29
Small monkey groups may win territorial disputes against larger groups because some members of the larger, invading groups avoid aggressive encounters. In a new report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Margaret Crofoot, post-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the Max Planck Institute of Ornithology, and Ian Gilby, professor at Duke University, show that individual monkeys that don't participate in conflicts prevent large groups from achieving their competitive potential.
The authors used recorded vocalizations ...
Weather deserves medal for clean air during 2008 Olympics
2011-12-29
RICHLAND, Wash. -- New research suggests that China's impressive feat of cutting Beijing's pollution up to 50 percent for the 2008 Summer Olympics had some help from Mother Nature. Rain just at the beginning and wind during the Olympics likely contributed about half of the effort needed to clean up the skies, scientists found. The results also suggest emission controls need to be more widely implemented than in 2008 if pollution levels are to be reduced permanently.
Reporting their findings December 12 in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, co-author atmospheric ...
Collaborative effort uncovers DNA duplications that may be responsible for genomic-based diseases
2011-12-29
An important part of saving a species is often understanding its DNA. Through a collaborative effort including 14 scientists representing organizations across Europe and the United States, researchers have been able to analyze the genome of the great ape species of the world.
"A robust appreciation of the means and methods of the evolution of genomes which underlies the diversification of the great apes requires a more detailed knowledge of genome variation that is poorly revealed by current genome sequencing methods. " said Oliver Ryder Ph.D., Director of Genetics ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
AMP 2025 press materials available
New genetic test targets elusive cause of rare movement disorder
A fast and high-precision satellite-ground synchronization technology in satellite beam hopping communication
What can polymers teach us about curing Alzheimer's disease?
Lead-free alternative discovered for essential electronics component
BioCompNet: a deep learning workflow enabling automated body composition analysis toward precision management of cardiometabolic disorders
Skin cancer cluster found in 15 Pennsylvania counties with or near farmland
For platforms using gig workers, bonuses can be a double-edged sword
Chang'e-6 samples reveal first evidence of impact-formed hematite and maghemite on the Moon
New study reveals key role of inflammasome in male-biased periodontitis
MD Anderson publicly launches $2.5 billion philanthropic campaign, Only Possible Here, The Campaign to End Cancer
Donors enable record pool of TPDA Awards to Neuroscience 2025
Society for Neuroscience announces Gold Sponsors of Neuroscience 2025
The world’s oldest RNA extracted from woolly mammoth
Research alert: When life imitates art: Google searches for anxiety drug spike during run of The White Lotus TV show
Reading a quantum clock costs more energy than running it, study finds
Early MMR vaccine adoption during the 2025 Texas measles outbreak
Traces of bacteria inside brain tumors may affect tumor behavior
Hypertension affects the brain much earlier than expected
Nonlinear association between systemic immune-inflammation index and in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and atrial fibrillation: a cross-sectio
Drift logs destroying intertidal ecosystems
New test could speed detection of three serious regional fungal infections
New research on AI as a diagnostic tool to be featured at AMP 2025
New test could allow for more accurate Lyme disease diagnosis
New genetic tool reveals chromosome changes linked to pregnancy loss
New research in blood cancer diagnostics to be featured at AMP 2025
Analysis reveals that imaging is overused in diagnosing and managing the facial paralysis disorder Bell’s palsy
Research progress on leptin in metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease
Fondazione Telethon announces CHMP positive opinion for Waskyra™, a gene therapy for the treatment of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS)
Vaccine Innovation Center, Korea University College of Medicine hosts an invited training program for Ethiopian Health Ministry officials
[Press-News.org] Missouri Mesothelioma Victims Not Limited to Workers' Comp ClaimsA recent Missouri Court of Appeals decision has changed the workers' compensation "exclusive remedy rule" as it relates to Missouri asbestos exposure victims and workers suffering from other occupational diseases.