• Menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • Search
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
 
CHOOSE BROADSPIRE

Amaxx Workers Comp Blog

Reduce Workers Compensation Costs By 20-50%

Header Right

  • Home
    • Training Center
  • Get Started
    • Newcomers Class for WC Professionals
    • Subscribe to Free Newsletter
    • Free Training Center Account
    • Return to Work Resources
    • WC Claims Mgmt. Resources
    • Insurance Advisor Resources
  • Membership
    • Insider (free account)
    • WC Mastery
    • Teams & Managers Mastery
    • Training Partners
  • Products
    • On-Demand Courses
    • Specialty Courses
    • Certifications & Mastery Courses
    • Ultimate Guidebooks
  • Blog
    • Video Blogs
    • COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic
  • Login

Mobile Menu

Choose Broadspire

CHOOSE BROADSPIREBroadspire Delivers Meaningful Results to Our Clients and Their Claimants
  • Home
    • Training Center
  • Get Started
    • Newcomers Class for WC Professionals
    • Subscribe to Free Newsletter
    • Free Training Center Account
    • Return to Work Resources
    • WC Claims Mgmt. Resources
    • Insurance Advisor Resources
  • Membership
    • Insider (free account)
    • WC Mastery
    • Teams & Managers Mastery
    • Training Partners
  • Products
    • On-Demand Courses
    • Specialty Courses
    • Certifications & Mastery Courses
    • Ultimate Guidebooks
  • Blog
    • Video Blogs
    • COVID-19 / Coronavirus Pandemic
  • Login
  • Search
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
You are here: Home / Claim Management / Legal Doctrines / OHIO Supreme Court Leaves Employers Running for Cover

OHIO Supreme Court Leaves Employers Running for Cover

July 17, 2011 By //  by Atty George Wilkinson Leave a Comment

The Ohio Supreme Court just issued a decision that may have implications for employers who have purchased stop-gap insurance. Many Ohio employers have purchased this insurance to protect themselves against employer intentional tort lawsuits, those cases in which their employees sue outside the workers compensation system on grounds the employer either deliberately intended to injure them or the injury was substantially certain to occur because of the employer’s actions.
 
 
Indeed, there is now an Ohio statute (R.C. § 2745.01) that governs such actions and gives rise to a presumption of deliberate intent when an employer removes a guard and the employee is injured. The question of whether such lawsuits must be defended by the stop-gap insurer has been decided, at least in part, in this recent Ohio Supreme Court decision.(WCxKit)
 
 
In this case of Ward v. United Foundries, et al., the Ohio Supreme Court determined the insurance company did not have a duty to defend in a case where the stop-gap policy had a specific exclusion for bodily injury resulting from an act which is determined to have been committed by the employer with the belief that an injury is substantially certain to occur.
 
 
In other words, the particular stop-gap insurance policy purchased by this employer specifically excluded these intentional tort actions. The court determined that this exclusion released the insurance company from the obligation to defend a claim. The court went on to state that the company could refuse coverage in the beginning, and need not wait until the jury rendered a verdict one way or the other.
 
 
Because of the exclusionary language, one would have to ask the question: what in fact did the stop-gap endorsement cover? The Ohio Supreme Court held that it covered lawsuits by relatives of an employee, lawsuits in a dual capacity where the employee was using a product manufactured by the employer and was injured and was suing on a products liability theory, and some other very esoteric situations. So the endorsement was not considered illusory.
 
 
While this is an important development in insurance law as it applies to employers and intentional torts, it does not answer all of the questions. Most of these stop-gap policies are intended to cover intentional tort claims, or at least to provide a defense. Thus, most stop-gap policies do not have the exclusionary language that this particular policy had. In those instances, will the stop-gap insurance apply, or does this case suggest there is a public policy argument against coverage?(WCxKit)


Employers will want
to check with their insurance agents and brokers to determine whether or not their policy includes this exclusionary language and, if so, whether another and better policy can be purchased from the carrier.


Author George B. Wilkinson
, Partner. Attorney Wilkinson is Workers Compensation Group Practice Leader at Dinsmore & Shohl in Cincinnati, OH. He can be reached at George.wilkinson@dinslaw.com or 513-977-8316. Many thanks to Attorney Wilkinson who has helped my clients and employers reduce workers' comp costs over the last 20 years.  

Our WC Book: http://corner.advisen.com/partners_wctoolkit_book.html
WORK COMP CALCULATOR: http://www.LowerWC.com/calculator.php
MODIFIED DUTY CALCULATOR:  http://www.LowerWC.com/transitional-duty-cost-calculator.php
WC GROUP: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?homeNewMember=&gid=1922050/
SUBSCRIBE: Workers Comp Resource Center Newsletter

Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
 
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.

Filed Under: Legal Doctrines Tagged With: Gap Analysis, Intentional Torts, Ohio WC Law, Stop Gap Endorsements, Tort Law and Workers Comp

Related Articles

Workers’ Comp Injuries At Home

Workers’ Comp Injuries At Home

3 Common Defenses Against Illegitimate Workers’ Comp Claims

3 Common Defenses Against Illegitimate Workers’ Comp Claims

Your Adjuster Has a Critical Role in Legal Defense Management

Your Adjuster Has a Critical Role in Legal Defense Management

Work Comp Compensability – Understanding Jurisdictional Questions

Work Comp Compensability – Understanding Jurisdictional Questions

3 Steps to Reduce Your Workers’ Comp Litigation Rate

3 Steps to Reduce Your Workers’ Comp Litigation Rate

Personal Comfort Doctrine Does Not Provide Comfort In Workers’ Comp

Personal Comfort Doctrine Does Not Provide Comfort In Workers’ Comp

Ensure Case Integrity With Unrepresented Work Comp Claimant

Ensure Case Integrity With Unrepresented Work Comp Claimant

The Employers Secret to Workers Comp Defense: Attorney Ted Ronca Tribute

The Employers Secret to Workers Comp Defense: Attorney Ted Ronca Tribute

Defense In Depth On Work Comp Claims: Attorney Ted Ronca Tribute

Defense In Depth On Work Comp Claims: Attorney Ted Ronca Tribute

Two Basic Rules To Solve Workers Compensation Problems: Attorney Ted Ronca Tribute

Two Basic Rules To Solve Workers Compensation Problems: Attorney Ted Ronca Tribute

Look At The Big Picture In Litigated Work Comp Files

Look At The Big Picture In Litigated Work Comp Files

Is Workers’ Compensation Destroying Social Security Disability?

Is Workers’ Compensation Destroying Social Security Disability?

Train to Succeed

BECOME CERTIFIED IN WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Proven Course Catalog & WC Toolbox Give You The Power To Achieve Lower Costs and Better Injured Worker Outcomes

VISIT WORKERS' COMP TRAINING CENTER

Free Download

How To Avoid, Manage, And Win Workers' Comp  Claim Litigation - FREE Download Click Here Now!

Previous Post: « Contractor Cited by OSHA When Chemical Tank Explosion Kills Worker
Next Post: Federal Workers Comp Cobwebs Swept Aside with Bill Passage »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

FREE DOWNLOAD

How To Avoid, Manage, And Win Workers' Comp  Claim Litigation - FREE Download Click Here Now!

Our Sponsors

Broadspire

Workers’ Comp 3rd-Party Administrator
 

Catastrophic Care Management, Complex Care, and Specialty Networks
 

Ametros

Post-Settlement Administration
 

Medicare Secondary Payer Services
 

Medcor

Injury Triage, Onsite Clinics

Read Our Award-Winning Blog

Blog Categories

Search Our Archive

Subscribe to Our FREE Newsletter

Footer

Search Our Archive

Search our continually growing archive of over 2500 articles about Workers' Comp issues.

Quiclinks

  • Calculators
  • Terms & Abbreviations
  • Glossary of WC Premium Terms
  • WC Resources
  • Best Practices
  • Industries

RSS Recent Blog Posts

  • Use Vocational Coordination When Employees Are Unable To Return to Work
  • Implement These Safety Training Guidelines
  • Small Communication Improvements Lead to Large Workers’ Comp Savings
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEE NEWSLETTER
Let Us Help You Stomp Down the High Cost of Workers' Comp!
Top of Page ↑
  • Home
  • Training Center
  • Get Started
  • Membership
  • Products
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Login
Copyright © 2021 Amaxx, LLC. All Rights Reserved. · Privacy Policy / Legal Notice