Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

Shannon Cave suffered a work-related injury and was awarded temporary total disability (TTD) benefits during her recovery. After Cave rejected an offer of temporary light duty work from her employer, the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division (Division) reduced Cave's TTD benefits to one-third of the previously authorized amount in accordance with Wyo. Stat. Ann. 27-14-404(j). The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) upheld the reduction of TTD benefits. The district court reversed the OAH decision. The Supreme Court reversed the district court's order, holding that the OAH decision was supported by substantial evidence and was not contrary to law as the hearing examiner properly determined that the offer of light duty employment tendered to Cave was bona fide, and therefore, the OAH was obligated to reduce Cave's TTD benefits.

Francis Weber was severely burned by hot mineral water when he lost consciousness in a steam room in Hot Spring State Park. Weber brought a personal injury action against several defendants, including the State. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the State, concluding that it was immune from suit pursuant to the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the State's activities in the park fell within the statutory waiver of immunity for operation and maintenance of a public park as (1) overseeing building construction on leased property and delivery of hot mineral water to lessees are part of the State's operation of the park, and (2) under these circumstances, the State's operation and maintenance of the park included overseeing and/or inspecting its lessee's property. Remanded.

Steve Glen filed suit against his employer, Union Pacific Railroad, claiming that a work-related injury was caused by Union Pacific's negligence. Previously, the Supreme Court reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of Union Pacific after finding the railroad had a duty to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in the operation of its railway. After remand, the jury determined that both parties, as well as two non-party actors, were negligent and awarded damages to Glenn. The Supreme Court reversed the district court, holding that the district court erred in refusing to admit evidence of a prior incident involving Union Pacific that was the catalyst for a change in the railway's safety procedures and that the error was prejudicial to Glenn. Remanded for a new trial.

Appellants were the personal representatives of the estates of a husband and wife who were killed in a car accident. The accident was caused by a driver who, prior to the accident, had become intoxicated as a result of consuming alcoholic beverages at a bar and a saloon in Wyoming. Appellants filed a wrongful death and negligence complaint against the owners of the bar and saloon. Appellants also sought a judgment declaring Wyo. Stat. 12-8-301, which provides that no person who legally provides alcohol to another person is liable for damages caused by the intoxication of the other person, was unconstitutional if, as a matter of law, the statute provided immunity to Appellees for their conduct. The district court granted Appellees' motion to dismiss on the ground that the Supreme Court had already found the statute to be constitutional. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that (1) in the statute, the word "legally" in the phrase "legally provided" does not encompass municipal ordinances, and (2) the statute violates neither the constitutional doctrine of equal protection nor the constitutional prohibition of special laws.

Employee injured his knee while climbing into his employer-provided truck as he was preparing to leave on a work-related trip. The Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division (Division) denied Employee's requested workers' compensation benefits related to his injury. The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) granted summary judgment in favor of the Division. The district court affirmed the OAH's decision. At issue on appeal was whether Employee's injury was sustained while he was being transported by a vehicle of the employer as the statute requires. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the statute plainly and unambiguously requires that for an injury sustained during travel to be compensable, it must occur as the employer's vehicle is carrying the employee from one place to another; and (2) because Employee here was entering the vehicle in preparation for that transportation when he was injured, the injury he sustained was not compensable.

Carol Middlemass suffered a broken right shoulder in 1987 as a result of a car accident. Middlemass recovered and was able to use her shoulder normally. In 2009, Middlemass stated that she injured her right shoulder while working for Y-Tex Corporation. The Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division denied Middlemass's request for worker's compensation benefits for the injury due to her preexisting condition. The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) upheld the Division's denial, and the district court affirmed. On appeal, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the OAH hearing examiner's conclusion that Middlemass did not meet her burden of proving that her shoulder injury was caused by her work activities was supported by substantial evidence; and (2) the OAH hearing examiner properly ruled that expert medical testimony was required to establish that Middlemass' work activities caused the injury.

Appellant Dawn Schossow injured her back while working as a nurse. Upon returning to work, Appellant requested permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. 27-14-405(h), which governs the availability of PPD benefits and sets out the elements an injured worker must prove to qualify to receive the benefits. Appellant's request was denied. The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) upheld the denial of benefits, and the district court affirmed the OAH's decision. On appeal, Appellant contended that the OAH hearing examiner erred as a matter of law in interpreting section 27-14-405(h)(i) and that the hearing examiner's decision was not supported by substantial evidence. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the hearing examiner properly applied the statute in assessing what wage to use when determining Appellant's PPD eligibility; and (2) the hearing examiner's conclusion that Appellant was capable of earning ninety-five percent of her pre-injury wage, and thus was not eligible for PPD benefits, was supported by substantial evidence.

Appellant Michael Van Patten was injured while working on a drilling rig. Van Patten filed suit against several of his co-employees, claiming their willful and wanton misconduct caused his injuries. The district court held as a matter of law that the co-employees' acts or omissions were not willful and wanton and granted their motion for summary judgment. Van Patten appealed. In support of his assertion that his co-employees acted willfully and wantonly, Van Patten relied heavily on the company's written policies and after-the-fact statements by upper level employees who were not present on the rig or involved in using the machinery. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that in light of the testimony of those who were involved, the policies and statements relied upon by Van Patten did not establish a genuine issue of material fact on the question of whether the co-employees knew the operation was dangerous and intentionally disregarded the danger.

In 2006, Will Torres claimed he injured his low back in a slip-and-fall accident at Home Depot where he worked. Torres had suffered two previous injuries to his low back. In January 2007, Torres received an MRI, which a doctor later used to diagnose Torres with multilevel degenerative disease. In August 2007, Torres had surgery performed on his back. Torres sought worker's compensation benefits from the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division related to the back surgery. The division denied Torres disability benefits, determining that the surgery was not causally related to the 2006 accident. The division's denial was upheld by the Office of Administrative Hearings and later by the district court. Torres appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding the hearing examiner's determination that Torres had failed to prove a causal relationship between the fusion surgery and the 2006 work incident was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence.