By AP/KWMU
Jefferson City, MO. – A drafting error has been discovered in Missouri's new workers' compensation law.
And Governor Matt Blunt is weighing whether to add the topic to a September special session.
The new law generally toughens the requirements for claiming workers' compensation benefits.
But because of the error, there is concern that lawmakers may have inadvertently undermined the entire system.
The problem arose because bill writers failed to remove part of an early draft when they put together the final version.
As a result, the bill appears to exclude accidental on-the-job injuries and deaths from the workers' compensation system. Those are the very things the system was intended to handle.