The defendants argued that Mr. Webb had no MEK or toxins in his system after the first day and that the breathing of these items on one work shift caused his death. Defendants argued that because the death occurred over just a few hours on one day that this was an accident and that the exclusive jurisdiction for the case was in Worker's Compensation.
The Circuit Court ruled that the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment was denied and the case is now allowed to proceed in Circuit Court. The Honorable Nancy L. Schneider authored the opinion dated 7/24/15.
Judge Schneider found:
"At the very least, Plaintiffs have created a genuine issue of material fact whether Mr. Webb's death was the result of an accident. Specifically, Plaintiffs have produced sufficient evidence to permit a reasonable juror to conclude that: (1) Mr. Webb's death did not satisfy the "single work shift" requirement of an "accident," and was instead caused by Mr. Webb's exposure to multiple chemicals over two separate work shifts; (2) Mr. Webb's death did not satisfy the "injury" requirement of "accident," and Mr. Webb instead died of an "occupational disease";and 3) Mr. Webb's death did not satisfy the "specific event" requirement of an "accident," and was instead caused by the cumulative impact of repearted exposure to harmful chemicals over three seperate entries-separated by two long breaks totalling approximately 45-55 minutes-into the space in which he died.
Many Plaintiffs want to bring a case in Circuit Court when the injuries are severe or death results due to the fact the the damages can be much broader than the compensation allowed under Missouri Worker's Compensation laws. This remedy is likely to be rare as the Missouri legislature in 2013 passed another worker's compensation law putting occupational diseases and repetitive trauma back into the worker's compensation act in order to attempt to eliminate civil cases against them in similar situations.
