Article ID: 79369b476ae0877813cb10bd6a690a3c8099c59c3ad8078dc79a0abd6fc5bc50
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URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/high-court-nixes-negligence-lawsuit-for-lack-of-actual-knowledge/
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High court nixes negligence verdict for lack of ‘actual’ knowledge - 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 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 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 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 Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers High court nixes negligence verdict for lack of ‘actual’ knowledge by Work Comp Central The Iowa Supreme Court is in this building. Workers Comp , Workers Comp Coverage , Workplace Safety Feb 10, 2026 The Iowa Supreme Court reversed a $2.84 million jury verdict in a gross negligence case, finding that although supervisors knew the general hazards of surface mining, there was no evidence they had “actual knowledge” of the specific peril that led to a death. Michael L. Griffith 30, died on the job after falling through a catwalk gate at the Wendling Quarries mine on Jan. 8, 2020. A jury, the district court and the court of appeals relied on a cursory safety inspection and failure to check the gate as proof of gross negligence. The high court, however, said constructive knowledge — what the supervisors knew or should have known — is not enough to overcome the exclusive remedy of workers compensation, according to Brea A. Griffith et al. v. John L. Kulper et al. “To the contrary, our precedent requires actual knowledge of the peril, not merely a failure to inspect that would have led to the peril’s discovery,” the high court said. Mr. Griffith was found unresponsive in the bin of a lime hopper, with a coworker noting at the time that the catwalk gate was in the open position. A U.S. Mining Safety and Health Administration investigation found the gate was secured with a strip of metal wire instead of standard retaining pins, making it less secure than it could have been. Mr. Griffith’s supervisor, Travis Galloway, visually inspected the lime hopper on the day of the accident from inside of his pickup truck. Mr. Galloway did not exit the vehicle or climb onto it to check that pins securing the catwalk gate were installed. He later affirmed that he would not have allowed Mr. Griffith or other workers to climb onto the machine if he knew the pins were missing. Nobody could explain where the pins were or why the gate was secured only with metal wire. Mr. Griffith’s wife and father sued several parties for gross negligence. After an eight-day trial in April 2023, the district court granted a motion for a directed verdict dismissing his supervisor, but not the safety and environmental director or the company president. The jury awarded $2.84 million in damages. The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the verdict, holding that the evidence supported the jury’s finding of gross negligence. The men appealed, arguing that the appellate court decision injected an element of constructive knowledge into the co-employee gross negligence analysis that is not allowed under existing precedent. The Iowa Supreme Court reversed, saying workers compensation is the exclusive remedy for workplace injuries and deaths without proof of gross negligence, which requires knowledge of the peril to be apprehended; knowledge that the injury is a probable result of the danger; and a conscious failure to avoid the peril. The court said actual knowledge of the peril — here, the improperly secured gate and missing pins — is required to satisfy the first and third elements. WorkCompCentral is a sister publication of Business Insurance. More stories here. 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