I am in trial this week, but a very interesting case was just handed down by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The title is Kealoha v. Leeward Marine, Inc. and the opinion can be found here.
The Longshore Act precludes compensation for injuries caused by an employee's "willful intent to injure or kill himself." 33 U.S.C. 903 (c). But, courts interpreting similar provisions of state worker compensation laws have allowed for compensation if the suicide, or attempted suicide, was work related. Those courts that have found the statutory bar inapplicable have done so using a "chain of causation" test instead of a "fault" or "voluntariness" test.
In this case, the Administrative Law Judge applied an "irresistable impulse" test. The Ninth Circuit held that the causation test was the more reasoned approach, stating:
Given the best-reasoned modern trend of case law, we hold that a suicide or injuries from a suicide attempt are
compensable under the Longshore Act when there is a direct and unbroken chain of causation between a compensable
work-related injury and the suicide attempt. The claimant need not demonstrate that the suicide or attempt stemmed
from an irresistible suicidal impulse. The chain of causation rule accords with our modern understanding of psychiatry. It
also better reflects the Longshore Act’s focus on causation, rather than fault. See 33 U.S.C. § 904(b) (“Compensation
shall be payable irrespective of fault as a cause for the injury.”).
No apparent circuit splits, but this is an issue to watch.
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