Missouri workers’ compensation covers occupational diseases when the work exposure is the prevailing factor in the condition. That includes:

• Repetitive trauma conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, and other overuse injuries that build over years of the same motion.
• Respiratory and toxic exposure diseases, including silicosis, asbestosis, berylliosis, coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, and mesothelioma.
• Occupational hearing loss from years of workplace noise, covered on its own schedule.

These diseases concentrate in construction, manufacturing, mining, and firefighting, and protective equipment does not always prevent them. Symptoms of toxic exposure often involve the lungs and airways: shortness of breath, unexplained coughing, fatigue, fever, and night sweats.

Missouri law provides an enhanced benefit for occupational diseases due to toxic exposure. For those diseases other than mesothelioma, the enhanced benefit equals 200 percent of the state average weekly wage for 100 weeks from the date of diagnosis.

Mesothelioma is treated separately because of how it behaves: in most cases it traces to asbestos exposure, and it can take decades for symptoms to appear, often mistaken at first for pneumonia or the flu. Missouri provides compensation equal to 300 percent of the state average weekly wage for 212 weeks for mesothelioma diagnoses.

The gap between exposure and symptoms is the defense’s favorite argument. The claim is built from your medical history, the nature of your work, how long you were employed around the exposure or the repetitive duty, and a medical opinion connecting them, which is why the right medical evaluation matters more here than in almost any other claim.

Timing rules for occupational disease generally run from when the condition and its connection to work became reasonably discoverable, not from the last day of the exposure. If you were just diagnosed with a condition that traces back years, do not assume it is too late to bring a claim.

In 2025 alone, our firm spent over $700,000 on expert witnesses. Occupational disease cases are proven the same way they are won: physicians who connect the work incident to the injury, and preparation that treats every disputed claim as one that may need a judge.

Our firm handled roughly 1 in 4 of recent workers’ compensation trials at the St. Louis Division of Workers’ Compensation, out of hundreds of attorneys representing Missouri workers. Insurers know which firms will actually try a case, and it changes how they negotiate.

When the claims administrator knows a trial firm is on the file, refusals of care get reconsidered.

Is repetitive trauma covered by Missouri workers’ comp?

Yes. Conditions like carpal tunnel, tendonitis, and other overuse injuries are compensable as occupational diseases when work is the prevailing factor, even though there was never a single accident to report.

What is the enhanced benefit for toxic exposure?

For occupational diseases due to toxic exposure other than mesothelioma, Missouri provides an enhanced benefit equal to 200 percent of the state average weekly wage for 100 weeks from diagnosis. Mesothelioma carries a larger benefit: 300 percent of the state average weekly wage for 212 weeks.

My symptoms appeared years after the job ended. Can I still file?

Often yes. Occupational disease timing generally runs from when the condition and its work connection became reasonably discoverable. Latent diseases like mesothelioma are the reason those rules exist, so get the diagnosis evaluated before assuming the window has closed.

What if more than one employer exposed me?

Work histories with multiple employers and exposure sites are common in these cases, and sorting out which employer and insurer answers for the claim is part of the legal work. Bring the full history to the consultation. Every case is different; results depend on the facts.