A Maryland appeals court ruled Thursday that the nondependent daughter of a man killed during a work incident cannot bring a wrongful death claim against the employer because the case is barred by workers compensation exclusivity.
The Appellate Court of Maryland found a trial court didn’t err in dismissing a wrongful death action filed by Summer Ledford against Jenway Contracting Inc. because the matter is workers comp exclusive.
John Ledford fell to his death in February 2021, while on the job, and Ms. Ledford subsequently filed suit against the company claiming that Jenway’s negligence caused the death.
Ms. Ledford argued that because she wasn’t her father’s dependent, she had no right to benefits under the workers comp law, since recovery in comp is limited to covered employees or their dependents. She said a lawsuit was her only remedy.
The trial court ruled the employer was immune from suit because workers comp exclusive remedy applied.
The appeals court said the trial court’s legal rationale was correct, and that the lawsuit was properly dismissed.
The judges said while state courts have never held that workers comp exclusivity applies to nondependents, court precedent has held that except for two specific exceptions, an employer’s liability under the workers comp act is exclusive when a worker is injured or killed on the job.