Ruling in ‘take home COVID’ case a win for employers: Experts
A recent California Supreme Court ruling that employers aren’t responsible for so-called “take-home COVID” — when workers infect family members — has tossed the issue out of the workers compensation arena, experts say.
The ruling, Kuciemba v. Victory Woodworks :
The court ruled July 6 that businesses don’t owe a duty of care to relatives of workers who contract COVID-19 on the job and then pass it along, and that workers comp exclusivity doesn’t prohibit lawsuits.
“Jeff Adelson, a partner with Newport Beach, California-based Adelson McLean P.C., which represents employers, said the California Supreme Court made a “really good public policy decision” but that the decision also means injured plaintiffs might be left without a remedy.
“I would say to employers, I wouldn’t jump up and down and say, ‘Yippee, this is a win,’” Mr. Adelson said. This “benefits us but this in no way gives us a license to be any less vigilant,” he said.
The California Supreme Court said that sometimes the “consequences of a negligent act must be limited in order to avoid an intolerable burden on society,” and that the “dramatic expansion of liability plaintiffs’ suit envisions has the potential to destroy businesses and curtail, if not outright end, the provision of essential public services.”
To see full article | https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20230201/NEWS08/912355073/Cumulative-trauma-claims-costs-add-up
About Jeffrey Adelson
Jeff Adelson, General Counsel and Co-Managing Partner at Adelson McLean, has practiced in the field of Workers’ Compensation for almost 40 years. In addition, Jeffrey Adelson’s legal career includes experience in the areas of civil, family, and criminal law. He enjoys the field of employment and Worker’s Compensation. A strong believer in human rights, he abhors any type of intolerance.
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