ST. LOUIS — A Missouri appeals court reversed and remanded a case involving the Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission and a man who was injured during his more than 40 years as an aircraft mechanic.
The case involves James Eckardt, who appealed a denial of Second Injury Fund benefits for his permanent total disability (PTD) due to multiple work injuries.
The fund cross-appealed regarding the inclusion of Eckardt’s occupational disease in the award.
Eckardt, a long-time aircraft mechanic, sustained seven work-related injuries over his career, Judge Lisa P. Page wrote in the decision.
The injuries included injuries to his knees, shoulders, wrists and carpal tunnel syndrome, which cumulatively led to his permanent total disability.
Despite the ongoing issues, Eckardt continued working until a severe injury on Oct. 3, 2015, compounded by his prior conditions, rendered him incapable of performing his job duties. He reached maximum medical improvement in January 2017.
At a November 2022 hearing, Eckardt provided extensive evidence of his injuries and their impact on his ability to work, the decision states.
Expert medical evaluations by Dr. David Volarich consistently indicated that the combination of Eckardt’s injuries significantly worsened his overall disability. Volarich’s assessments underscored that the total disability was a result of combining his primary injury with preexisting conditions.
The administrative law judge initially awarded Eckardt PTD benefits, concluding that his total disability resulted from the combination of his primary injury and preexisting injuries, including carpal tunnel syndrome.
However, the commission overturned this decision, arguing that Eckardt failed to prove that his PTD was exclusively due to qualifying preexisting disabilities combined with the primary injury, as required by state law.
The commission did accept Eckardt’s carpal tunnel syndrome as a qualifying preexisting disability under Section 287.220.3, which recognizes occupational diseases. The fund’s cross-appeal contended that carpal tunnel syndrome should not be included under Section 287.220.3 because it is classified as an occupational disease under Section 287.067, which the fund argued excludes it from fund compensation.
The court found that the commission erred by requiring Eckardt to prove his PTD resulted from only the qualifying preexisting disabilities combined with the primary injury, contrary to the precedents set by previous cases.
The court noted that, like in a previous case, non-qualifying disabilities should not negatively impact the assessment of PTD if the claimant has demonstrated that the primary injury, when combined with qualifying preexisting conditions, leads to PTD.
The court concluded that it would reverse the commission’s denial and remand the case for the award of PTD benefits, affirming the inclusion of Eckardt’s carpal tunnel syndrome as a qualifying preexisting condition.
"We recognize and commend the Commission’s endeavor to comply with both our Supreme Court precedent and the legislative mandate to strictly construe Section 287.220.3," Page wrote in the decision. "However, this decision goes too far because it essentially adds language to Section 287.220.3(2)(a)b, which states, 'Such employee thereafter sustains a subsequent compensable work-related injury that, when combined with the preexisting disability, as set forth in items (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv), of subparagraph a. of this paragraph, results in a permanent total disability as defined under this chapter.'"
The fund’s cross-appeal, arguing that carpal tunnel syndrome should not be included under Section 287.220.3, was then rejected, confirming the commission’s decision to include it based on its compensability under workers' compensation law.
The appellant was represented by John A. Lally.
The respondent was represented by Matthew Kincade III.
Attorneys for the parties declined to comment on the case.
Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District case number: ED112132