The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a case involving the state’s long-ailing Second Injury Fund. The case centers on the children of a deceased worker and whether they should receive money from the fund for the rest of their lives.
David Spradling was injured on the job in 1998 and died from unrelated circumstances in 2005. He had filed a Second Injury Fund claim, which his three children pursued after his death, and in 2011 were awarded disability payments from the Fund for life.
Assistant Attorney General Jon Lintner argued that payments should have ended after Spradling’s kids, who are now in their 20s, turned 18.
“Does someone who was once a dependent remain a dependent for the rest of his or her life? No," Lintner said.
The Spradlings’ attorney argued that a 2007 court ruling entitles dependents of a deceased employee to receive permanent total disability awards for life, and that at the time of Spradling’s death his children were still teenagers.