In 2005 the Missouri legislature passed the most comprehensive revision of the Workers' Compensation law since 1993 - Senate Bill 1. It repealed 35 sections of law and enacted 40 new sections of the law. It applies to cases where the injury arose on or after August 28, 2005.
The stated purpose of these changes was to make Missouri more "business friendly." The outcome is unfriendly to injured workers in Missouri.
Most of the changes deal with relatively small numbers of very specific types of cases. Businesses, insurance companies, and their lawyers had the Missouri legislature rewrite the law so as to limit or prevent benefits in situations they previously lost in court actions.
Far-reaching changes were made to the definitions of "accident" and of "permanent partial disability." Again, these changes attempt to limit injured workers access to benefits.
Other changes in the law involve "notice" of injury, safety rules, drugs or alcohol, and a new defense of "post injury misconduct." These changes create pitfalls for the unwary or uninformed.
No appellate court has yet issued any guidance on the meaning and impact of all of these changes. Insurance companies, however, are using the changes to their advantage at every opportunity.
Part of the new law terminated 22 "legal advisors." These people were staff attorneys at the Division of Workers' Compensation who gave advice to injured workers who did not have an attorney. These advisors are gone; their positions were eliminated.
Now, more than ever, an injured worker needs legal advice. The sooner the better. Mistakes made in the first 30 days after an injury can result in the complete loss of benefits legally owed to the injured worker. No one at the Division of Workers' Compensation can or will help.
