JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nearly two dozen years after Monroe Gunter retired from a long career at a Missouri power company, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer often caused by exposure to asbestos.
Gunter sued his former employer, claiming its negligence subjected him to asbestos particles that eventually led to his illness. He died before a jury ruled against him. Yet Gunter's lawsuit is cited by business groups as an example of how Missouri's workers' compensation system has gone awry and is again in need of reform in order to improve the state's economy.
When the Missouri Legislature convenes Jan. 9, Republicans plan to use their new supermajorities to try to prohibit lawsuits such as the one Gunter filed. Their goal is to force claims for occupational diseases to go through the workers' compensation system, an administrative proceeding where the maximum amount of money awarded to harmed workers could be significantly less than through a successful jury verdict.
A similar bill was vetoed this past year by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. He said at the time that it would be wrong to eliminate the right to sue for workers who suffer from deadly work-related diseases, such as a mesothelioma.
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