Court: Utah Supreme Court
Citation: 2022 UT 3
Opinion Date: January 31, 2022
Judge: Matthew B. Durrant
Areas of Law: Labor & Employment Law, Personal Injury
This case law update is brought to you by Freeway Law auto accident and personal injury lawyers in Orange County. The following is not one of our cases, but it is of some significance, and we thought we should share it with our readers for informational purposes. The information above is for informational purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice.
The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the district court denying the motion for summary judgment filed by Barnes Bullets asking the district court to rule that the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) barred Layne Kay’s claim, holding that the Occupational Disease Act (ODA) may bar Kay’s lawsuit.
Kay contracted lead poisoning while working at Barnes and sued Barnes under the exception of the WCA permitting employees like Kay to sue over injuries caused by an employer’s intentional act. Barnes moved for summary judgment, arguing that the WCA barred Kay’s claim where Kay did not present sufficient evidence that Barnes acted intentionally. The Supreme Court vacated the district court’s decision and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding that Utah law recognizing lead poisoning as an occupational disease raises a significant question as to whether the ODA, not the WCA, covered Kay’s claim.
