Erwin v Midway Arms
2025 Mo. App. Lexis 131
release date: March 4, 2025
The Court of appeals reverses the Commmission based on a misapplication of law and awards medical bills for a surgery which the employer's expert eventually concluded was reasonable including the need for future medical for psych and orthopedic conditions.
Employee declined employer's request to provide records and furnished them only after claimant underwent surgery. The court found claimant had made requests for medical care, and had no duty in its aburden of production of medical records or reports to refute an earlier finding of MMI to trigger a further duty to provide care. The case is distinguishable in which claimant did not provide any notice.
The Commission reversed an award of nearly $60,000 in sanctions against the employer noting employer relied upon a medical, even if it was not adopted by the Commission. The Court refused to award sanctions based on the finding of the Commission that both sides acted unreasonably by the employer not seeking further medical opinion and the claimant withholding medical records.
