*1 automobile, disabled and after temporarily determining is not quickly person WYNN, Deceased, Margaret T. Jack R. injured, person, to frisk that into his break Widow, al., Wynn, Appellants, et car morning at 3:00 o’clockin the when that car is rural partially protruding onto a LINES, NAVAJO FREIGHT gravel as a night road used at primarily INC., Respondent. beer, to con- place
lovers lane and drink finally the car in duct a search and remove No. 64679. minimizing danger the name of Missouri, Supreme Court of au- proper after the motoring public —all En Banc. Patrol) been called (Highway thorities had responded, departed and had police, June 1983. anything. without having the scene done Rehearing Aug. Denied this set circumstances Wanner (as police jurisdiction others were Brasel,
distinguished from cited in the concurring as there
majority opinions,
an arrest was made the officer’s limits). To
territorial Wanner and say pri- Police all this really
Mexico time were citizens, conducting
vate a search but
performing (by a humanitarian mission seat)
looking grocery sack in the back
presents trojan horse that would
all but obliterate constitutional
straints enforcement officers. police, acting appearing
Dressed as
police through sequence all
(with parameters constitutional on their ac-
tivities) to then were in they while young they
the back of this man’s car were (to citizens
really private which no constitu- safeguards apply) helping
tional while just hap-
stranded motorist whom had
pened upon credulity. belies
The search of defendant’s car judg- it proper.
reasonable nor was conviction be reversed.
ment on that should drugs weighed were not
Since car I would as did the East- independently, do ap- for Paxton, Independence, C. William remaining judg- affirm ern District and pellants. drugs the count for the found ment on Wells, respon- City, E. Kansas Lee the car but reduce it to the lesser outside dent. possession offense of of less included resentencing. and remand for grams
GUNN, Judge. an em- in this case is whether The issue by work induced ployee’s the continued during ground constitutes usual duties *2 88
compensation death We App.1974). benefits. find that Applying appropriate the then it does. facts, the legal rubric to the Eastern Dis trict court thereby affirmed the circuit Wynn Jack was an over-the-road truck judgment denying recovery. driver Navajo Lines, Freight Inc. While making his usual run between Kan- family The Wynn claimants —the —had sas City, Indianapolis, Missouri and Indiana, their sought bring claim the facts under he suffered a massive heart attack near Plaster, and circumstances Smith v. 518 Danville, Missouri. Truck driver friends (Mo.App.1975), S.W.2d 692 by showing that aid, came to his but he succumbed on the Mr. Wynn’s brought heart attack had been Mexico, way to the hospital. Missouri pulling about the unusual strain an by
Claim for worker’s empty death under a trailer series of benefits sought by Wynn’s was Mr. widow circumstances.1 Smith v. Plaster allowed unemancipated children. The adminis- to an em- worker’s benefits trative law denied claim finding ployee myocardial an who sustained acute that there was no accident or unusual strain by infarction an abnormal strain in caused meaning 287.020.2, RSMo performance working of his duties. review, 1978. On the Labor and Industrial Hussman-Ligonier But see ex rel. Co. Relations (Commission) Commission v. 40 Hughes, 348 Mo. 153 S.W.2d versed the law judge (1941), a heart to a worker in which attack benefits, finding awarded death that occurring on the was held not to have Wynn’s by death occulsion coronary result- by been an abnormal strain and ing myocardial infarction was caused non-compensable. therefore by an “over-exertion unusual to the de- holding ultimate of the Eastern Dis- ceased, aggravated employee’s which preex- of the affirming judgment trict in trial isting heart disease to the extent that it did court there was an “absence of was that meaning cause an accident within the of the strain aris- evidence of abnormal unusual statute.” Wynn’s] employment;” out of [Mr. Subsequent appeal was taken to the cir- thus, his death “accidental” disagreed cuit court which with the Com- compensable. mission and concluded its award was not meantime, In the this has issued Court by supported substantial and was evidence Service, Inc., Wagner Cartage contrary overwhelming weight (Mo. 646 banc which bears S.W.2d 781 evidence. Accordingly, case. transfer directly this was Appeal thereupon hearing in given granted. ease was Wynns’ the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern Dis an exhaustive lesson trict, in opinion by Judge Snyder, law, particularly worker’s gave thorough and analysis accurate interpreta- as it Missouri relates to existing compensation law. The The case legislative tion of enactments. Eastern District concluded stages of the various conducts a review finding did not support Mr. of the law: purpose court treatment due to any was abnormal or unusual which re- from construction initial liberal strain employment, in connection his strain, e.g., quired no unusual evidence appropriate standard for under Co., Mo.App. Bros. Const. 223 existing E.g., Carr Murch case law at the time. Crow v. Co., (1929), fusty more 21 Implement Tractor 307 S.W.2d 897 S.W.2d Hussman-Ligoni- 1957); ex rel. Russell v. Southwest treatment of State moderate Co., supra, er (Mo. Hughes, Grease Oil Co. v. brought by driving empty attack about reason trailer on a was Mr. words, particularly day. own hot In his work circum- “beating attending ride was him to death.” Medical tes- his stances ride. timony supports the conclusion that the heart abnormal or unusual Implement of Crow v. Missouri for acci- injuries but job related Co., supra. Tractor type suffered dents of the —a statutory that “the defi- Wolfgeher notes course during the work related has remained nition of the term ‘accident’ regard to unchanged years but the judicial over strain.2 usual or abnormal doing, construction thereof has not.” so *3 job relat- injury clearly it concludes that Missouri should abandon de- of the term “acci- who any narrow construction ed. The give possible dent” it the broadest the basis of lack of abnor- and nied extend worker’s concluded: meaning to mal or unusual largest possible employees. class of 2, 1977 September events of ... [T]he Wolfgeher further comments Id. at 785. efficient, exciting, superinduc- were an ab- requirement establishing that the of of contributing cause concurring, ing, allowing normal or unusual strain before However, these were caused his death. phase out with totally is of and occupation, usual strains by the juris- overwhelming majority of other way or abnormal in the nothing unusual dictions: “Where his work occurred. performed in he customary employee usual duties of an and that Mr. finding demonstrates This in change or a physical leads to breakdown injury in the sense “job related” suffered a Id. pathology, injury compensable.” mandates affirmance Wolfgeher, at 784. It Industrial Commission. the award Underpinning Wolfgeher providing the cir- to decide whether necessary not ab- erasing the base for its conclusion setting aside properly cuit court acted is the normal or unusual strain Commission, which con- findings occupational dis- Court’s attitude toward compensa- right there was cluded that eases, encompass which would test, because Wolfgeher pre- tion under the fatal heart attack: basis wholly adequate provisions Those the Workmen’s to consider the no need for affirmance with “occupa- Compensation Act which cover strain. question of refer- any tional diseases” do not contain right to com- teaches requirement. ences to an “accident” Sec- simply because lost pensation is not (Cum.Supp.1981); tion 287.067 See not unusual. strains described Co., 481 Luggage Mfg. v. Neevel Collins of heart attack most eases that in probable as an (Mo.App.1972). long So evi- produce claimant job, on the related, in- clearly job it seems injury the trier of But relatedness. dence of inequitable deny com- consistent ease, persuaded be must fact, in this but to allow pensation injury, for the though Even finding. this essential occupational for an health, preexisting had a poor was in or illness. himself, care of condition, good take did Id. at 785. fatal heart to a have succumbed might work, possibly off attack while The end result of was to aban- stress, to com- right sorts “ac- different narrow construction of the term don a trigger- if the actual should exist pensation congruency with the ma- cident” and attain found, of sub- on the basis causes are which have eliminated the jority of states By this de- compensation “accident.” array of cases and abundance 2. For a massive parade inju- cision, joins a vast ma- causing exertion of discussion on “routine dealing generally on-the-job ry” this issue. jority with states on of other attacks, Compensa- see Compensa- Digest, Workmen’s also Mo. See The sense tion compilation tion, of Missou- Key 1536 for No. verify is to the Missouri treatise Compensa- pertaining to Workmen’s ri cases comparison with stance in rather anachronistic cases. tion heart interpretation jurisdictions other evidence, stantial “job to meet the related” If there is some personal causal contri- or “work related” test of Wolfgeher. No bution in the of a previously form weak- need having exists for heart, one test for heart ened or diseased and another for other injuries contribution take the form of an brought on by the usual duties of employ- greater exertion that of nonemploy- * * * ment life. Note that the compari- son employee’s is not with this ex- Therefore, following the course charted ertion in his but with the by Wolfgeher interpretation in its of work- exertions nonemployment of normal life er’s compensation “accident” as enacted by of this or any person. other the legislature, we find Mr. Wynn’s job If there is no causal contribu- related fatal heart attack entitles his family tion, is, if is no there claimants to sought. death benefits exertion connected Judgment of the circuit court is reversed. *4 causally connected a as matter of collapse medical RENDLEN, C.J., and HIGGINS and fact adequate satisfy legal to test BLACKMAR, JJ., concur. * * of causation. *. DONNELLY, J., dissents in separate situations, In both with or without pri- opinion filed. or or claimant must show that medically FINCH, Judge, Senior dissents and con- the particular exertion contributed caus- curs separate dissenting opinion of DON- ally to the heart attack. NELLY, J. Larson, 38.83, p. 7-237. § BILLINGS, JJ., WELLIVER and not sit- test, Under the merely having ting. heart attack on the insufficient KELSO, Judge, Senior not participating. require because, This is compensation. understood, problems heart DONNELLY, Judge, dissenting. result either from external conditions or The principal expands opinion (here t£> relating employment), or permit for “heart attacks” oc- from the internal condition heart and curring during the course of employment itself, body or from a combination of the regard to causation. two. spe- Under such a test proposed Arthur Larson special has test conditions, cific to those heart for heart cases. resulting solely largely or from em- Compensation ployment are compensable. causation, intended to account a key I apply would the Larson test in this case. problem in heart cases. The causation re- Here, pre-existing employee had quirement can down be broken into two no abnormal or and there was parts, legal medical. To satisfy usual strain in connection with his employ- the legal requirement, causation exertion or test, the require- Under the Larson (whether unusual) legal ment of causation not satisfied. have arisen employment.” “out of the Lar- son’s provides way test of determining respectfully I dissent.
this both for in which there situations was a
previously weakened diseased heart and where there was no weakness or satisfy
disease. To medical causation
requirement, doctors must whether the
exertion or legally strain found sufficient to
support compensation in fact caused this
collapse. is as follows: Larson’s test