The California Supreme Court has declined to review a lawsuit that alleges a husband died from COVID-19 after his wife brought it home from her place of work, raising questions about why the case wasn't covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) and Derivative Injury Doctrine.
The South San Francisco-based See’s Candies had filed a petition for review with the state Supreme Court on Jan. 28, arguing that because the man’s death was ‘derivative’ of his wife's claim of workplace injury, the WCA’s exclusive remedy provisions barred pursuing the claims in court.
The high court on April 13 denied the candymaker’s petition and did not provide further comment.
While many states have passed liability protections for businesses to address unlimited tort concerns amid the pandemic, California isn’t one of them. The Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) twice co-sponsored legislation to provide such reforms for small businesses and nonprofits that complied with government safety protocols, but neither bill advanced in the state Legislature.
"We are disappointed that the California Supreme Court chose not to review the Court of Appeal decision in this ‘take-home’ Covid case brought against See's Candies,” Kyla Christoffersen Powell, CJAC’s president and CEO, said in an email response to the Northern California Record.
“Without the backstop the high court could have provided, California employers may be exposed to unprecedented liability,” Powell said. The appellate court’s novel and erroneous theory of liability should have been rejected, as the claim should have been decided within the confines of the state’s workers’ compensation system.”
The case is an example of why California has been designated the #1 Judicial Hellhole in the nation, Powell said.
“Businesses cannot count on our courts to make decisions on the basis of the law and long-standing legal precedent,” Powell said. “Instead, our legal system is fraught with unpredictability. It’s not surprising that many California businesses are fleeing to other states.”