A lawsuit alleging a man’s COVID-19 death occurred due to his wife’s workplace may proceed, a California Appellate Court has ruled, raising questions about how liability coverage applies under The Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) and Derivative Injury Doctrine.
The Second Appellate District denied See’s Candies petition for a writ of mandate late last month.
See’s Candies had asserted that, “the plaintiffs’ claims are preempted by the exclusivity provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Act,” the ruling states. “Specifically, defendants argued plaintiffs’ claims are barred by the ‘derivative injury doctrine’ (see Snyder v. Michael’s Stores, Inc. (1997) 16 Cal. 4th 991, 1000 (Snyder), under which ‘the WCA’s exclusivity provisions preempt not only those causes of action premised on a compensable workplace injury, but also those causes of action premised on injuries ‘ “collateral to or derivative of” ’ such an injury.”
The lawsuit was filed against See’s Candies in December 2020.
"The recent appellate court ruling in the lawsuit brought against See's Candies could set the stage for more frivolous litigation against California businesses at a time when they are already struggling to survive and cannot afford even a single lawsuit,” Kyla Christoffersen Powell, president and CEO of the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC), said in an email response to the Northern California Record.
“Although the employee’s situation in this case is tragic, the claim should have been handled under the state’s workers’ compensation system,” Powell said.
“California has not put any protections against meritless Covid lawsuits into place for businesses, and our Legislature and governor need to take immediate action to aid economic recovery,” Powell said.
Texas and roughly 30 other states have passed legislation to address COVID-19 liability protection.
“CJAC has co-sponsored legislation twice in the last two years to provide liability protections for small businesses and nonprofits that complied with government safety protocols, but neither bill advanced,” Powell said.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in the retail and travel industries.