Court revives mother’s civil suit for murder of daughter by co-worker

A Texas appellate court revived a mother’s negligence suit over the murder of her daughter by a co-worker, remanding the issue back to the lower courts over the issue of whether the exclusive remedy provision in state law applies.

As documented in Sanchez v. K&C Chicken 2 LLC, filed on Thursday, Veronica Sanchez was working for K&C Chicken when she was shot and killed by a co-worker after she stepped out of the back door of the building where she worked to retrieve some supplies. Media reports described the incident as a murder-suicide.

Ms. Sanchez’s mother filed a workers compensation claim, which K&C’s insurer denied, asserting that the death “arose out of an act of a third person who intended to injure her because of a personal reason, and the act was not directed at her as an employee or because of the employment.”

Ms. Sanchez’s mother then filed a lawsuit for negligence against the restaurant, which asserted an affirmative defense based on the exclusive remedy provision of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. A trial judge granted the summary judgment.

The Court of Appeals for the 11th District of Texas said that at the time the appeal was filed, the Texas Supreme Court had not yet addressed the question of whether an injured employee (or, as in this case, a family member seeking benefits arising out of the death of an injured employee) must initiate and resolve a proceeding for workers compensation before it can proceed with a suit against the employer.

While the appeal was pending, a split also developed between two appellate courts on the issue. The Texas Supreme Court later resolved the conflict, holding that the DWC “does not have exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether an injury occurred in the course and scope of employment when (1) the employer raises the issue as an affirmative defense outside the compensability context and (2) the employee’s requested relief does not depend on any entitlement to benefits.”

Because both of the conditions that the Texas Supreme Court sets out are present, the 11th District said the trial judge erred in granting K&C’s motion for summary judgment.

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