The California Court of Appeal Wednesday affirmed a trial court’s ruling that a school volunteer killed while helping load food into vehicles during a food drive was by law considered an employee of the district and therefore the family cannot sue for negligence.
The Dublin Unified School District held a food distribution event March 24, 2021, for families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Volunteer Catherine Kuo was loading a food box into the rear of a vehicle at a middle school when another vehicle entered the parking lot and struck her. She died at a medical center later that day, according to Kuo v. Dublin Unified School Dist.
Her family and estate filed a complaint against the school district asserting negligence and premises liability by failing to implement basic safety protocols, training and communication at the event, creating a “dangerous condition.”
A trial court, applying state law that says that “school volunteers may be deemed employees entitled to workers compensation benefits as their sole remedy for any injury sustained while
performing services,” dismissed the lawsuit due to workers comp exclusivity.
On appeal, the family argued that they were unaware of Ms. Kuo’s status as being eligible for workers comp and that the district offered no such notice. The appeals court wrote that “even accepting plaintiffs’ characterization of the discovery, they again do not present any authority supporting their position that such conduct nullifies (the) application” of state law on school volunteers and workers compensation.
This article was first published in Business Insurance.
