MO: S/L Not Start Until Medical Advisement

The Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld a decision by the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission that an employee with an occupational disease is not considered "injured" until such time as the disease causes a compensable injury. In the case of Joyce Rupard v. John K. Kiesendahl, DDS; State Farm Fire and Casualty Company (No. WD62101, August 5, 2003) Joyce Rupard filed a claim October 4, 2000, after her doctor determined she needed surgery to relieve pain in her upper extremities, which he believed were a result from her work. As a dental assistant, Rupard regularly stood in awkward ...