Senate Bill No. 1 - Workers' Compensation Reforms

• Tightens the definition of "accident" and "injury" by requiring that the accident be the "prevailing factor" (primary factor) in causing both the medical condition and disability, rejecting broader prior case law interpretations.

• Creates the Missouri Mesothelioma Risk Management Fund allowing employers to pool mesothelioma liability and receive special benefits: 200% of average weekly wage for 100 weeks for non-mesothelioma toxic exposure diseases, and 300% for 212 weeks for mesothelioma cases.

• Restructures the Second Injury Fund to limit permanent partial disability claims after the effective date and restrict permanent total disability claims to employees with military service disabilities, prior compensable injuries, or preexisting disabilities that aggravate subsequent work injuries.

• Modifies mental injury protections by requiring work-related stress claims to demonstrate "extraordinary and unusual" stress measured by objective standards, and excludes injuries from disciplinary actions, work evaluations, or terminations taken in good faith.

• Establishes new restrictions on occupational disease coverage, limiting "occupational diseases due to toxic exposure" to a specific list (mesothelioma, asbestosis, silicosis, etc.) and requiring the accident be the prevailing factor in causation.