Injury Cases: Horseplay/Fighting

(Court of Appeals)

Click on the case name to read the decision on the Ohio Supreme Court's web site. Decisions which adopt the decision of a lower court or Magistrate, or which decide a case based on a previous decision, are excluded.

Chambers v. Ohio Bur. of Workers' Comp. (11/16/05)

Widow of worker who was shot in workplace dispute is not entitled to participate in workers' compensation fund when jury determines that worker instigated fight.

Vote: 2-1
Opinion by: Judge Moore
Court: Ninth Appellate District

Foster v. Cleveland Clinic Found. (12/16/04)

Personal dispute between husband and wife which led husband to murder wife at place of employment does not result in compensable workers' compensation claim because dispute was independent of employment.

Vote: 2-0, 1 concurs in judgment
Opinion by: Judge Sweeney
Court: Eighth Appellate District

Keating v. Classic East, Inc. (7/25/08)

Death resulting from deceased worker's own horseplay is not compensable.

Vote: 3-0
Opinion by: Judge Rice
Court: Eleventh Appellate District

Kelley v. Ryan (4/5/10)

Trial court properly instructed jury that injured worker was entitled to participate for injury resulting from horseplay even if he instigated or participated in the horseplay, as long as the employer acquiesced or consented.

Vote: 3-0
Opinion by: Judge Powell
Court: Twelfth Appellate District

Lowe v. Cox Paving, Inc. (8/16/10)

Instigator of dispute is not entitled to participate for injury occurring after he was hit by a co-employee.

Vote: 3-0
Opinion by: Judge Ringland
Court: Twelfth Appellate District

Luo v. Gao (3/7/07)

Injury resulting from attack by co-worker was compensable, even where attack may have resulted in part from a personal quarrel, where the work-related quarrel exacerbated the situation leading up to the attack.

Vote: 3-0
Opinion by: Judge Carr
Court: Ninth Appellate District

Rosado v. Cuyahoga Metro. Hous. Auth., Inc. (3/15/07)

Injury on public street, where injured worker's foot was crushed by employer's Bobcat, was "arising out of" employment; because of disputed issue over whether employee was engaged in horseplay at time of injury, issue of whether injury was in the "course of" employment must be determined at trial.

Vote: 3-0
Opinion by: Judge Cooney
Court: Eighth Appellate District

Saldana v. Erickson Landscaping & Constr. (1/14/05)

Jury could construe evidence to permit right to participate where worker was injured on employer's premesis after he had clocked out, when he was injured as a result of horseplay initiated by a co-employee while he was waiting to give another co-employee a ride.

Vote: 2-1
Opinion by: Judge O'Neill
Court: Eleventh Appellate District