JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Supreme Court will get to decide if an unborn baby can work for the state.

The case before the Missouri Supreme Court Wednesday involved two Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) workers that were killed in a crash in 2021. Kaitlyn Anderson was six months pregnant at the time a vehicle drove through a work zone in St. Louis, killing her and her co-worker James Brooks. 

Since then, Anderson’s family has sued MoDOT, claiming they failed to protect the workers, but attorneys for the supervisors told the court they have immunity under state law. 

“By virtue of their status as public servants, which protects them from liability from unfortunate workplace accidents, such as this one,” attorney for the MoDOT supervisors Matthew Noce told the court Wednesday. 

It’s a day Kaitlyn Anderson’s mom will never forget. Kaitlyn and her unborn baby Jaxx both died in a work zone crash on Telegraph Road over Interstate 255. A second worker also died and a third barely survived. 

“Since November 18, 2021, my life is in shambles,” Kaitlyn’s mother, Tonya Musskopf, said. “I miss my daughter every day.”

The questions for the court are if an unborn child can be an employee of MoDOT and if there are exceptions to Missouri’s Worker’s Compensation Law. Both decisions are critical issues that have far-reaching implications. 

MoDOT said Kaitlyn’s baby was a MoDOT employee, so the case should be a worker’s comp issue, not a wrongful death lawsuit. 

“However, with that said, it does not change the fact that this was an unfortunate workplace accident,” Noce said.

The department is claiming the state’s worker’s comp law protects them from liability. Under the law, if an employee is unmarried and doesn’t have children, they are not liable if the employee dies on the job. 

“Respondents argue that the co-worker immunity is inapplicable because Kaitlyn didn’t have any dependents at the time of her death; again, the case law is clear on this,” Noce said. “It has been decided that is not an element of this defense.”

Anderson’s family sued MoDOT, claiming there was no protective truck on scene that day, even though it’s a requirement. 

“The day before this accident, same place, same work, protect vehicle,” Anderson’s attorney, Christian Anderson, said. “On this day when they assigned this six-month high-risk pregnancy girl to do this work, no protective vehicle.”

MoDOT is asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the supervisors of the work zone have immunity under state law. 

“All I am asking this court to provide is the protection which has been afforded to these defendants by legislators, by the virtue of their co-worker status with Ms. Anderson,” Noce said. 

Kaitlyn’s mom, along with her fiancé and father of Jaxx, held back tears Wednesday, as the family would have celebrated both Kaitlyn’s and Jaxx’s birthdays this week. 

“I think it’s disgusting; just because you’re a supervisor you shouldn’t have immunity for anything,” Musskopf said. “If anything, you should be held to a higher standard because you are in charge of human lives.”

This court case comes as Musskopf is asking lawmakers to settle a dispute over an unborn fetus. If the courts view unborn baby Jaxx as an employee, then the lawsuit is dismissed. 

“My future was right there in front of me, and it was taken and every day I sit there and think to myself, how am I going to find another woman like Kaitlyn in my life to bring that happiness I had inside that I didn’t know?” Kaitlyn’s fiancé Austin Jarvis said. 

MoDOT said Wednesday they cannot comment on pending litigation. 

The Supreme Court did not rule on the case Wednesday and there’s no timeline for when a decision will be released.