Is Missouri a No Fault State

[kentuckyranger]

I have a friend who lives in MO, and hurt herself at work when she tripped and fell, breaking hear arm.
She's had people tell her, that because it wasn't a trip from something on the floor, but just her being clumsy, she has no workers comp case.
Now the Dr is making her stay off work for 2 months, until the arm heals, but her Co is refusing to pay her anything.
I live in KY, and we have a no fault workers comp law, but I have no idea about MO...

[tony]

I have a friend who lives in MO, and hurt herself at work when she tripped and fell, breaking hear arm.
She's had people tell her, that because it wasn't a trip from something on the floor, but just her being clumsy, she has no workers comp case.

It depends on the type of activity she was engaged in at the time of the injury.

If at the the time of the accident she "was engaged in an activity of a purely personal nature, independent of the employment relationship." it's not compensable.
If she was acting "out of and in the course of the employee’s employment" it is compensable.
Read below.

Course of Employment
Engaged in the Furtherance of Employer’s Business
In Missouri, an injury/accident must arise out of and in the course of the employee’s employment to be found compensable. Generally, accidents which occur while the employee is acting in furtherance of the employer’s business will be compensable. An injury suffered by an employee while performing an act for the mutual benefit of the employer and employee is usually compensable.

Not in Furtherance of Employer’s Business
An injury is not compensable if, at the time it occurred, the employee was engaged in an activity of a purely personal nature, independent of the employment relationship.
https://wiki.theclm.org/wiki/263#EXC...eU2NECDvFju8dw

Also the injury must be the result of an "accident"

“Injury ”Defined"
Under the Missouri Worker's Compensation Act, the term injury is defined in connection to the term accident.
https://wiki.theclm.org/wiki/263#COM...zEewnNhDEnqBHg

MISSOURI WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIM HANDLING GUIDELINES
https://wiki.theclm.org/wiki/263#:~:...%20compensable.

I live in KY, and we have a no fault workers comp law,

Not sure of what you mean by "no fault" - when posting such statements you should post the source for your info.

In Kentucky, the same rules apply except Kentucky has a different definition for "injury"
Like Missouri "the injury must occur within the "Course and Scope of Employment"
There are a number of exclusions including "Failure to Use Safety Equipment, Intentional Assaults, Intoxication, Suicides or Other Self-Injury"

See - 4 COMPENSABILITY, 4.1 General Rule, 4.2 Definition of “Injury” in the below links.

Definition of “Injury”
“Injury” means any work-related traumatic event or series of traumatic events, including cumulative trauma, arising out of and in the course of employment

EXCLUSIONS AND DEFENSES
Course and Scope of Employment
KRS 342.0011(1) requires that a compensable injury must arise both “out of” and “in the course of” the employment.
“[t]he burden is upon the claimant to prove the causation of injury was work connected.” Jones v. Newberg, 890 S.W.2d 284, 285 (Ky. 1994). As a result, a claimant must prove that the work element was a “proximate cause” of the injury to satisfy the course and scope of employment requirement. See KRS 342.0011.
https://wiki.theclm.org/wiki/247#Gen...nU6frXV9ippezA

KENTUCKY WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIM HANDLING GUIDELINES
https://wiki.theclm.org/wiki/247#Gen...nU6frXV9ippezA

Tony

[kentuckyranger]

Thanks so much for the info.
I'm sure I'm not using the proper terminology, but your answer was perfect.

[complwyr]

All workers' comp statutory schemes in the US are "no fault" in the sense that negligence is not an issue.

Sounds like the original poster has an issue with whether he or she was "injured by accident." We have the IBA (Injury by Accident) rule of law here in NC too, and a great deal of workers' comp litigation is focused on whether an injured worker had an injury "by accident" such that he is covered. Under NC law, an "accident" is any interruption of the normal work routine that causes, at least in part, an injury. An interruption can be a subtle thing, such as your foot slipped on a piece of debris on the floor, causing you to lose your balance and fall. Here in NC, I often have to cross-examine injured workers before I take their case, because they don't volunteer all the little tiny details as to how they got hurt, and as a result, they leave out the one little detail that constituted their "accident."

Furthermore, an idiopathic condition-- I was walking and my knee gave out and I fell-- is not "arising out of the work" so injuries solely due to idiopathic conditions are not covered.

Now, OP, the injured person needs to get a free consultation with a local workers' compensation lawyer BEFORE giving anyone a recorded statement about what happened to them at work. When the insurance company takes that recorded statement, they are not looking for the little details that matter. They are trying to lull you into giving a half-ass statement that does not describe your "accident" so that they are justified in denying your claim. Then, after you get denied and talk to a lawyer, you learn that a couple of little details that you failed to disclose are the key to your case, but when you add that information into the story, you get labeled as a liar. SO GET THE LEGAL CONSULT AND FIND OUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO TELL THE INSURANCE COMPANY BEFORE YOU GIVE THE STATEMENT!