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St. Louis Attorneys Win Favorable Decision in Missouri Workers’ Compensation Case

Litchfield Cavo attorneys Susan M. Kelly, Brian K. McBrearty, Adam A. Field and Ryan J. McGinty received a favorable decision from the St. Louis courts in a workers’ compensation case involving the death of the client’s alleged employee.

In this case, the worker was hired to deliver a body to a funeral home in Texas, but the driver suffered a heart attack during the commute resulting in a crash of the company vehicle into a road construction area.

The case was initially denied on the issues of whether the claimant was an employee or an independent contractor, and whether his death was related to the heart attack, an unknown cause or the crash itself.

After denying a multiple six-figure demand, the case was tried and the judge ruled in favor of the employee. However, our attorneys argued that the claimant was an independent contractor and not entitled to death benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act. Brian initially tried the case, and Ryan and Adam prepared the brief on appeal, while Susan presented oral arguments.

The Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission agreed with our attorneys, overturning the judge’s initial ruling in favor of our client.