If a worker gets sick from something at their job, the law assumes they were exposed to that danger the moment they started working there, even if it was just for a short time. The last employer where the worker was exposed to that danger is the one responsible for paying benefits. The time limit to file a claim does not start until the worker can reasonably tell that they got hurt or sick because of their job.
287.063. s, of exposure — last employer — , starts ning, when. — 1. An employee shall be to have been exposed to the s of an occupational disease when for any length of time, however short, he is employed in an or in which the hazard of the disease exists, subject to the relating to occupational disease due to , as is set forth in 8 of section 287.067.
2. The employer liable for the in this section provided shall be the employer in whose the employee was last exposed to the hazard of the occupational disease prior to evidence of , regardless of the length of time of such last exposure, subject to the of section 287.420.
3. The referred to in section 287.430 shall not begin to run in cases of occupational disease until it becomes reasonably discoverable and apparent that an injury has been related to such exposure, except that in cases of loss of due to industrial noise said shall not begin to run until the employee is eligible to file a as hereinafter provided in section 287.197.
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Source & history notes
(L. 1959 S.B. 167 § 287.201, A.L. 1974 S.B. 417, A.L. 1983 H.B. 243 & 260, A.L. 1993 S.B. 251, A.L. 2005 S.B. 1 & 130) (2002) Even though claimant's repetitive motion symptoms originated with prior employers, under last exposure rule the last employer to expose claimant is solely liable for such occupational diseases. Endicott v. Display Technologies, Inc., 77 S.W.3d 612 (Mo.banc).
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