Some Workplace Shootings May Not be Compensable, Florida Appeals Court Says.
By William Rabb | August 17, 2023
That’s the question that a Florida appeals court wants the state Supreme Court to answer in a closely watched case that, potentially, could overturn years of precedent.
In Normandy Insurance Co. vs. Mohammed Bouayad and Value Car Rental, a panel of Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeals on Wednesday set aside an administrative law judge’s award of benefits to the claimant. But the panel also took the unusual step of asking the high court to answer a question of great public importance: “When an act of a third-party tortfeasor is the sole cause of an injury to an employee who is in the course and scope of employment, can the tortfeasor’s act satisfy the occupational causation element … necessary for compensability?”
The claimant’s lawyer, Michael Winer, of Tampa, said he plans to ask the full, 13-judge appeals court to rehear the case. Short of that, he will join in asking the Supreme Court to weigh in. If it stands, the appellate court’s reasoning would create two standards – one for assaults and one for accidents, Winer said Wednesday.
“That’s just absurd,” he said.
Under the DCA panel’s opinion, employee injuries and deaths from mass shootings, such as those at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in 2018 and at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando in 2016, would likely not be compensated, Winer said. That’s contrary to multiple court rulings through the years, he argued.
William Rogner, attorney for Normandy Insurance, said the Bouayad decision is “not revolutionary,” and simply underscores statutory and case law that has long held that injuries from workplace violence are not compensable if the incident is not work-related. Robberies, assaults by co-workers or customers are usually covered.
“It’s no different than many other cases that have been decided by the court,” Rogner said. “For example, if it’s a disgruntled lover that comes to the jobsite and shoots or stabs the worker, that’s not covered.”
Call Michael Winer – Injury Attorney- (813) 224-0000.
UNPARALLELED SERVICE
MAXIMUM RESULTS
UNENDING DEDICATION
By you using this website and the electronic mailbox contained within, you agree not to transmit any case-related documents, including, but not limited to, pleadings, service of process, correspondence or any other case-related documentation of a time-sensitive nature.
YOU ARE NOT ESTABLISHING AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP BY COMPLETING THIS FORM. YOU ARE NOT A CLIENT UNLESS AND UNTIL YOU RECEIVE A SIGNED WRITTEN REPRESENTATION AGREEMENT FROM THE FIRM.