An officer in Kansas City injured his knee at the beginning of an obstacle course in December 2015 during off duty hours. The officer signed a form and agreed that use of the obstacle course when he was off-duty would not be covered by workers' compensation. Reiter v Kansas City Police Department, 2018 MO WCLR LEXIS (April 12, 2018)
The ALJ awarded benefits and medical bills for an ACL injury and the Commission affirmed the award in a modified decision.
The employer disputed the accident and asserted it was a recreational activity and did not arise in the course and scope of employment. The claimant asserted no officers ran the course for recreation and fitness provided a benefit for the employer.
The claimant was told by a supervisor to treat on his own because he signed a waiver.
The ALJ found the employer created the hazard and offered the employees benefits for participating. The ALJ found the activities off-duty were regarded in the course of employment because they advanced the employer's interest. The activity could not be considered recreational because it was not performed for diversion but for remuneration.
The Commission affirmed the award but noted the test whether an injury arose of employment depended on medical causation, 287.020.3(2)(a), which was not in dispute, and (2)(b) to define the relative hazard or risk of what caused the risk and not what he was doing. In this case, the commission found the hurdle in claimant's path was the obstacle which caused the knee injury, that the obstacle course was related to employment and claimant would not have been exposed to the similar risk away from work. The Commission applied an equal exposure analysis but concluded it did not regard the test required based on Pile v Lake Regional Health System, 321 S.W.3d 463 (Mo. App. 2010). The commission disavowed reliance on pre-reform cases.
The commission found that 287.390.1 prohibited any waiver of a right to pursue workers' compensation benefits and the claimant's agreement to use the course in exchange for not exercising his rights to be not enforceable.
The award represented 20% PPD for surgically repaired ACL tear represented approximately $48,000 in medical and PPD with open medical for the officer.
ALJ Fowler
Atty Stang, Postlewait
Experts: Stuckmeyer
Treater: Snider
