The Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission issued a decision on September 17, 2024, affirming the Award in Gordon Johnson v. RBX Transportation, Injury No. 20-094915. This is the first Missouri decision to determine the compensability of alleged work-related Covid-19 exposure. MVP Law attorney Trish Musick successfully defended this matter for the insured.
In this case, the claimant worked for employer, RBX Transportation, as a night dispatcher and a load coordinator. He worked at a desk he shared with an employee who worked the night shift. Their shifts would overlap by about 15 minutes. The night shift employee tested positive for Covid-19 the day before the claimant tested positive. There was testimony that there were 12-15 employees at the employer that were out sick in October 2020 (the month that claimant contracted Covid-19). No witnesses could identify an RBX office employee who had Covid-19 before the claimant and the employee who shared his desk. There was also disputed evidence that Covid-19 prevention strategies were in use, such as the use of masks in the building, use of a fogging machine to clean ductwork, and use of hand sanitizer. Claimant also testified that whenever he was out in the community during the relevant period, he always wore a mask due to mask mandates.
The court determined that the claimant did not sustain an
occupational disease arising
out of the course and scope of his employment. The court found that
on the date of injury,
Covid-19 was an ordinary disease of life. Additionally, the court
found the origin of the risk was not inherent in the performance of
claimant's job as a night dispatcher. There was nothing that
would inherently increase the employee's risk of Covid-19 in
that job.
The court also rejected claimant's argument that we should
compare the exposure to
Covid-19 at work against the exposure to Covid-19 in claimant's
activities away from work. The court held that comparing the
exposure in and away from employment is only applicable to an
accident under RSMo. §287.020.3(2), and not applicable to an
occupational disease under RSMo. §287.067.1.
If you would like to read the full decision, you may do so here.
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