A lawsuit filed by the widow of an employee who died because of workplace COVID-19 exposure was prematurely dismissed, the California Court of Appeal ruled Monday.
Maria Chavez sued Alco Harvesting LLC on behalf of her deceased husband, Leodegario Chavez Alvarado, who tested positive for COVID-19 on July 2, 2020.
Ms. Chavez alleges her husband’s employer knew of a COVID-19 outbreak at a motel where workers were housed but failed to warn the employees of the danger.
Mr. Alvarado, who worked as a foreman and bus driver for Alco, died five days after his diagnosis.
During the litigation, a trial court sustained a defense petition to dismiss the lawsuit and would not allow Ms. Chavez to file an amended complaint.
The company had argued that Ms. Chavez failed to prove it had “actual knowledge” of the COVID-19 hotel outbreak that led to Mr. Alvarado’s death.
The appeals court, in reversing the trial court, said the complaint sufficiently pleaded all elements of the fraudulent concealment exception to the workers compensation exclusivity rule.
“The pleading alleged Alco failed to report the COVID-19 outbreak to the health department, notify its employees, or implement measures to prevent or curb the outbreak,” the court wrote. “The failure to notify decedent of the outbreak, and that his reported symptoms were that of COVID-19, concealed the nature of his illness.”
The appeals court ordered the trial court to vacate its order granting Atco’s dismissal petition.
