On May 22, 2018, in a case involving a claim for benefits made by the estate of a deceased worker, the Supreme Court of Missouri, in Accident Fund Insurance Co. v. Casey, upheld the constitutionality of a Missouri workers compensation law providing additional benefits for mesothelioma occupational disease claims filed after January 1, 2014. Under the law, Missouri employers may accept and insure their liability for the additional mesothelioma benefits. The court ruled that the employer’s current workers compensation policy and insurer—which was not the insurer when the employee was last exposed to asbestos in 1990—provide coverage for the additional mesothelioma benefits. The court also found that the law did not violate Missouri’s prohibition on retrospective laws.
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