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Saturday, March 20, 2010

Ind. Decisions - "Widow denied worker's comp"

The Court of Appeals decision yesterday in the case of Alex B. Edwards v. Domino's Pizza (NFP) (ILB entry here) is the subject of a story by Dan Carden today in the NWI Times:

The widow of a Merrillville store manager, rear-ended and killed while driving an employee home after closing, is not entitled to collect worker's compensation, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Friday.

Alex Edwards, 58, was manager of Domino's Pizza in Merrillville and agreed to drive Anible Macklin, 53, home after closing the store on Aug. 20, 2005. Macklin, whose job as sign shaker was to attract customers using a banner outside the store, had not worked that day.

The pair were driving on Broadway toward Macklin's Gary home when Edwards' van was rear-ended and pushed into a building by a vehicle driven by a drunken Veltor Cotton. Edwards and Macklin were trapped in the van, which exploded in flames. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

Cotton, now 37, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for causing the deaths of both men.

Mary Edwards, Edwards' widow, asked the appeals court to reverse a finding by the Indiana Worker's Compensation Board that she was not entitled to worker's compensation. She claimed her husband was acting under the orders of store owner James Gronemann by driving Macklin home.

The Indiana Court of Appeals disagreed, saying "the facts support the Board's conclusion that Edwards' accident did not arise out of or in the course of his employment."

Specifically, the court ruled that because Edwards was driving his personal vehicle and not working at the time of the accident, Macklin had not worked that day and Edwards was not required to provide transportation as a condition of his job, his widow is not entitled to worker's compensation.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 20, 2010 10:10 AM
Posted to Ind. App.Ct. Decisions