KANSAS CITY — A Missouri appellate court has upheld a lower court's ruling granting duty-related disability pension benefits to a former Kansas City firefighter, reversing the Kansas City Firefighters' Pension System Board's previous denial of his claim.
Jeremy Starr, who served as a firefighter for 18 years, developed bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and cubital tunnel syndrome in his left elbow, rendering him unable to work since May 2020, according to an opinion filed Feb. 19 in Missouri Court of Appeals.
Although the Pension Board agreed that Starr was permanently and totally disabled, it determined his disability was not caused by his job duties and awarded him a smaller non-duty disability pension.
Starr sought judicial review, and the Jackson County Circuit Court sided with him, leading the Pension Board to appeal.
The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court's judgment and ordered the Pension Board to grant Starr the duty-related disability pension.
Starr began working for the Kansas City Missouri Fire Department in 2003 and sustained multiple work-related injuries between 2015 and 2019.
These included permanent partial disabilities to his back and shoulders, which resulted in lengthy periods of modified duty performing administrative tasks instead of active firefighting.
In May 2020, Starr reported pain, numbness and swelling in his hands, leading to diagnoses of carpal and cubital tunnel syndromes.
Despite undergoing surgeries, Starr's condition did not improve, and medical evaluations confirmed he could no longer meet the physical demands of firefighting.
In 2020, Starr settled a worker's compensation claim with Kansas City for permanent partial disabilities affecting both hands and his left elbow.
The following year, he applied for duty-related disability pension benefits.
His claim included medical reports from his treating physician, Dr. CW, who attributed Starr's injuries to "repetitive hand activities as a firefighter."
The Pension Board, following its standard procedure, appointed two independent doctors, Drs. MP and CF, to evaluate Starr.
Both doctors independently concluded that Starr's work-related cumulative trauma was the primary cause of his disability.
Their reports emphasized that Starr's job duties, including repetitive motions and handling equipment, substantially contributed to his condition.
Despite these medical opinions, the Pension Board denied Starr's request for a duty-related pension, arguing that Starr failed to prove his disability resulted directly from his firefighting duties.
The Board dismissed specific claims, such as Starr's testimony about the vibrations caused by driving pumper trucks and using power tools, instead favoring testimony from a Battalion Chief who described the equipment's impact as minimal.
The Board also highlighted Starr's extended periods on light duty, asserting that for over half the 27 months before his disability onset, Starr was not engaged in physically demanding work.
The Jackson Circuit Court, however, found the Pension Board's decision arbitrary and unsupported by substantial evidence.
The court noted that the Pension Board was required to defer to the conclusions of its own medical examiners, who clearly linked Starr's disability to his firefighting duties.
The court criticized the Board's focus on Starr's most recent job assignments while ignoring the cumulative impact of his entire firefighting career.
In its decision, the Missouri Court of Appeals echoed these findings, concluding that the Pension Board erred in rejecting the medical evidence supporting Starr's claim.
The appellate court directed the Board to award Starr the duty-related disability pension he sought.
The appellant was represented by Mark A. Kistler, Evan M. Schodowski and Melika T. Harris
The respondent was represented by Cramer A. Russell, Alexander D. Russell.
Attorneys declined to comment on the case.
Missouri Court of Appeals case number: WD87111