High Court Expands 2nd Injury Fund Liability for Dependent Claims

The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday increased the woes of the state's near-defunct Second Injury Fund, ruling that it is liable for continuing benefits to the surviving spouses of workers who were rendered permanently and totally disabled before legislative amendments to the payment scheme took effect in 2008. In a unanimous decision by Judge Patricia Breckenridge, the court concluded that Deborah Gervich's entitlement to benefits as a dependent of her late-husband vested on the date of his injury, not his death. Since Gary Gervich's injury predated the effective date of the chan...