Article ID: 3505439874da0934ab64b9be8c151ca19055a9ce8c05911f72d71db93df1a144
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URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/comp-exclusivity-bars-suit-over-workers-covid-death/
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Comp exclusivity bars suit over worker’s COVID death - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2025 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Comp exclusivity bars suit over worker’s COVID death by Louise Esola Claims Disputes , Workers Comp Coverage , Workplace Safety Aug 18, 2026 A New Jersey appeals court ruled Friday that the family of a nursing home laundry worker who died from COVID-19 cannot pursue a civil lawsuit after his estate received workers compensation benefits for his death. In Dunne v. Advanced Subacute Rehabilitation Services at Sewell LLC , unpublished, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, affirmed summary judgment dismissing wrongful death and survivor claims against the operators of a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility. Louis Doto Sr. was employed by BP & SC Services Inc., which leased him to Advanced Subacute. He worked overnight in the facility’s basement, washing, drying and folding linens, including linens from rooms occupied by residents with COVID-19. Mr. Doto tested positive for the virus during a routine workplace screening on Dec. 23, 2020, and died Jan. 18, 2021. His estate received a workers comp award for his death. His family subsequently alleged that Advanced Subacute failed to take adequate precautions against COVID-19, including timely fit testing some employees for N95 masks and hiring an infection-prevention specialist. The appeals court said New Jersey law applies workers comp exclusivity to both an employee-leasing company and its client. Advanced Subacute controlled Mr. Doto’s work, paid his wages and had the authority to hire and discharge him, making him an employee of both companies, the court said. The family failed to establish that the facility committed an intentional wrong that would permit a lawsuit outside the workers comp system. Nothing in the record indicated Advanced Subacute knew its actions were substantially certain to cause Mr. Doto’s illness or death, the court said. The court also held that the facility was protected by a state law granting health care providers broad civil immunity for actions taken in response to the COVID-19 emergency, except in cases involving gross negligence or more culpable conduct. Advanced Subacute required masks, screened workers and visitors for symptoms and exposures, performed temperature checks and conducted routine testing. Although its precautions may have had shortcomings, no reasonable jury could find that its conduct amounted to gross negligence, the court said. The family’s experts also failed to establish that Mr. Doto contracted COVID-19 at the facility rather than in the community or that any alleged safety lapse caused his infection, the court said. 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