Family of police officer who died from COVID denied workers’ comp
"Officer Kendle Blackburn died Dec. 28 after a long battle with the virus. A release from Gov. Mike Parson’s office at the time said Blackburn contracted the virus while on duty in November. Lebanon officials were told last week that the city’s workers’ compensation insurance provider, Missouri Employers Mutual, determined Blackburn’s COVID-19 exposure and death “is not compensable under workers’ compensation,” The Springfield News-Leader reported. Police Chief Byran Arnold said the decision seems to violate an emergency rule Parson signed in April last year that allows first responders to receive workers’ compensation if they are diagnosed with COVID-19 or if…