In Drewes v Trans World Airlines, Inc.,984 S.W.2d 512 (Mo.banc. 1999), the Supreme Court found injuries sustained in an inexplicable fall compensable where they occurred during an unpaid lunch break in a lunch room open to all building tenants ("on" or "about" the premises analysis). (The employee did not appear to have any prior medical problems which would cause the unknown fall).
In Kasl v Bristol Care., Inc.,984 S.W.2d 852 (Mo.banc. 1999), the Supreme Court found injuries compensable where they resulted from a fall sustained when claimant got out of a chair and her foot had fallen asleep. (Again, no evidence of prior medical problem in the leg.)
In Circo v A-Cord Electric, 969 S.W.2d 228 (Mo.App. W.D. 1998), while walking, the claimant felt his left knee buckle and pop. He had been treating for left knee complaints for 13 years and had prior surgery. There was a recommendation for further surgery just before the incident, and two days before the incident, he had canceled the surgery, saying his knee had improved. The ALJ found the fall from buckling to be idiopathic. One Commissioner agreed, one dissented, and the other denied not on idiopathic injury, but on the employee?s lack of credibility.
(Comment: The key to these cases seems to be whether there are prior medical problems in the same body part as was injured in a normal body motion.)
In Knipp v Nordyne, Inc., 969 S.W.2d 236 (Mo.App. W.D. 1998), employee fell off a forklift and subsequently died. The Commission denied death benefits because the death was not due to an accident arising out of and in the course of business The record indicated that claimant had an aneurysm which caused him to fall from his forklift and that the subsequent injury from the fall was not the cause of death. The Court noted that even though the original cause was idiopathic, that would not prevent recovery if there was some evidence that falling and hitting his head at least exacerbated the employee?s injury. One must show that it was the work-related fall, rather than the idiopathic condition, which caused the injuries for which compensation was requested.
The "idiopathic (of unknown origin) fall" case of Alexander v D.L. Sitton Motor Lines, 851 S.W.2d 525 Mo.banc. 1993), held that even though the start of the fall was idiopathic, if the "conditions of the work place contributed to the injury even if the precipitating cause was idiopathic" it is fully compensable. In Alexander, the employee fell from a platform 4 ? feet high after becoming dizzy. The dizziness was of unknown origin, but the height of the fall was sufficient to make it compensable. However, in Abel v Mike Russell's Standard Service, et al., 924 S.W.2d 502 (Mo.banc. 1996), a gas station attendant had a fall of unknown origin while standing on the level paved surface of the station. This was held not compensable because "no unique condition of the work place contributed to cause the injury". Even though it was c