Rodriquez v. Nurseries, Inc., 90CA0620
| Decision Date | 05 July 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 90CA0620,90CA0620 |
| Parties | Javier RODRIQUEZ and Mary L. Rodriquez, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. NURSERIES, INC., Defendant-Appellee. . V |
| Court | Colorado Court of Appeals |
Marvin Dansky, P.C., Jack LeProwse, Westminster, for plaintiffs-appellants.
Wood, Ris & Hames, P.C., Charles E. Weaver, Christopher C. Felton, Denver, for defendant-appellee.
Opinion by Judge DAVIDSON.
In this appeal from a summary judgment entered in favor of defendant, Nurseries, Inc., and against plaintiffs, Javier and Mary Rodriquez, the question presented is whether the High Voltage Power Lines- Safety Requirements Act, § 9-2.5-101, et seq., C.R.S. (1986 Repl.Vol. 3B) (the Safety Act), creates an exception to the exclusivity of the Workers' Compensation Act of Colorado, § 8-40-101, et seq., C.R.S. (1990 Cum.Supp.). We hold that it does not and, therefore, affirm.
The relevant facts are undisputed. Plaintiff Javier Rodriquez was employed by defendant as a nursery laborer. While clearing an area near high voltage power lines, Rodriquez tipped an aluminum irrigation pipe upward causing it to come in contact with the power line. As a result, he suffered electrical and thermal injuries.
Defendant was insured under the Workers' Compensation Act, and Rodriquez claimed and received workers' compensation as defendant's employee.
Plaintiffs then filed this action against defendant, seeking recovery for damages in excess of the benefits received under the Workers' Compensation Act. Rodriquez' wife, Mary, sought recovery for loss of consortium. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that, having complied with the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act, it is immune from suit. The trial court agreed, and so do we.
Section 8-41-102, C.R.S. (1990 Cum.Supp.) of the Workers' Compensation Act provides, in pertinent part:
"An employer who has complied with the provisions of [this Act] shall not be subject [to] any other liability for the death of or personal injury to any employee [and] all causes of action, actions at law, suits in equity, proceedings, and statutory and common law rights and remedies for and on account of [the] death of or personal injury to any [employee] and accruing to any person are abolished...."
"The Workers' Compensation Act [provides] exclusive remedies for compensation of an employee by an employer for work-related injury." Triad Painting Co. v. Blair, 812 P.2d 638 (Colo. No. 90SC383, June 10, 1991). Recovery under the Workers' Compensation Act is meant to be exclusive and to preclude employee tort actions against any employer. Kandt v. Evans, 645 P.2d 1300 (Colo.1982).
Also, an employer's compliance, as here, with the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act "is construed as a surrender by both the employer and the employee of any other cause of action or common-law right or remedy which the employee may have against the employer for the employee's injuries arising out of and in the course of employment." Popovich v. Irlando, 811 P.2d 379 (Colo.1991).
Rodriquez admits that he is a covered employee under the Workers' Compensation Act, that defendant is a covered employer, and that he has been paid benefits under the Act. Further, plaintiffs agree that, as a complying employer, defendant otherwise would be immune from suit. They argue, however, that the Safety Act provides an exception to the exclusivity of the Workers' Compensation Act.
The Safety Act imposes a duty upon contractors performing work within 10 feet of an overhead high voltage line to notify the utility company in advance and to arrange for effective guarding of the line against accidental contact. Section 9-2.5-103, C.R.S. (1986 Repl.Vol. 3B). It further provides that a person or entity that violates the act:
"may be liable for all damages and all costs and expenses, incurred, as a result of the contact, as determined by a court of record, or by settlement made by all parties who may become liable for such damages prior to the filing of or during the course of a civil action." Section 9-2.5-104(2), C.R.S. (1986 Repl.Vol. 3B).
Essentially, plaintiffs argue that, in enacting the Safety Act, the General Assembly intended to provide "a more extensive remedy because an inherently dangerous activity is involved." Plaintiffs contend that the intent to allow the recovery of damages that are not otherwise covered by Workers' Compensation benefits is evinced by the use of the phrase "all damages." Thus, according to plaintiffs, this section of the Safety Act authorizes a tort action to recover these additional damages. We do not agree.
Contrary to plaintiffs' contention, we find nothing in the phrase "all damages" as indicative of...
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