Senate passes bill to reverse ruling on Second Injury Fund (to the families of disabled workers)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/34F6E63C57245B4F862573FE000C84F5?OpenDocument

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
02/29/2008

JEFFERSON CITY — Senators unanimously passed legislation Thursday meant to reverse a Missouri Supreme Court decision that could allow millions of dollars to flow to the families of disabled workers after their deaths.

Although a boon to some surviving spouses and children, the workers' compensation benefits never were intended to last so long, many lawmakers say. And the extended payments could further drain a workplace injury fund that some fear already is headed toward insolvency.

In a January 2007 decision, the state's highest court reversed the long-held assumption that workers' compensation payments end when an injured employee dies of an unrelated cause. Instead, the Supreme Court said, surviving dependents are entitled to continue receiving the payments due a deceased worker who had been "permanently and totally disabled."

Legislation passed by the Senate and sent to the House would end those payments when the injured workers die. The measure states that dependents could not keep cashing the checks. It specifically says the intent is to reverse the Supreme Court's ruling.

The court ruling "created a new exposure, a new expense to an already troubled fund," said Sen. John Loudon, R-Ballwin, who is sponsoring the legislation.

What lawmakers are concerned about is the Second Injury Fund, created in 1943 to encourage employers to hire wounded military veterans and other workers who previously had been injured.

FULL story at link.