Opinion ID: 2566260
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: intentional injury

Text: ¶ 8 Title 85 O.S.2001, § 11 provides compensation for accidental personal injury. DeAnda argues that intentional acts of the insurance carrier are not covered by the Workers' Compensation Act. He continues that because bad faith is an intentional act, recovery for damages does not fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Workers' Compensation Court. ¶ 9 In Whitson v. Oklahoma Farmers Union Mut. Ins. Co., 1995 OK 4, 889 P.2d 285, the issue was whether a successful workers' compensation claimant could later assert a tort claim against his employer for the manner in which the employer defended the claim. The Court held that he could not. Whitson, 1995 OK 4, ¶ 1, 889 P.2d at 286. The facts reveal that Whitson's supervisor claimed that he never received notice of Whitson's injury within the statutory time. The supervisor allegedly instructed other employees to deny notice of the claim. However, despite the supervisor's actions, an employee did confirm Whitson's accident to the investigator for the workers' compensation carrier early in his investigation. The court awarded compensation. Whitson, 1995 OK 4, ¶ 2, 889 P.2d at 286. ¶ 10 Whitson sued for fraud and bad faith. The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants. On appeal, this Court held that an employer's liability to an injured worker is limited to that created by § 12 of the Workers' Compensation Act. Whitson, 1995 OK 4, ¶ 8, 889 P.2d at 287. [1] The act of the supervisor was alleged to be intentional, yet because it occurred during the adjudication of an employee's claim, the Court found the intentional act could not be grounds for a separate lawsuit. ¶ 11 Without citing Theus, Anderson v. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Co., 1997 OK 124, 948 P.2d 1216, nevertheless followed its teaching in placing the insurer in the same position as the employer for conduct that predates a workers' compensation award. Anderson held that Oklahoma does not recognize a bad faith claim for pre-award conduct against a workers' compensation insurance carrier. Anderson, 1997 OK 124, ¶ 11, 948 P.2d at 1218, citing  Whitson 889 P.2d at 285. The insurance carrier in that case contested Anderson's workers' compensation claim and filed an objection to his medical report. About six months later, the insurer authorized medical treatment. Anderson, 1997 OK 124, ¶ 3, 948 P.2d at 1216-1217. ¶ 12 Anderson filed suit in the district court of the State of Oklahoma for bad faith and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The case was removed to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, which certified this question: Does Oklahoma law recognize the tort of bad faith for unjustified denial of workers' compensation insurance coverage or the assertion of a groundless defense, based on alleged damages incurred for the carrier's conduct that predated the claimant's workers' compensation award? Anderson, 1997 OK 124, ¶ 1, 948 P.2d at 1216. Like Whitson, Anderson alleged an intentional act, yet this Court refused to recognize the pre-award tort. ¶ 13 Whitson and Anderson conclusively establish that not all intentional torts fall outside the jurisdiction of the Workers' Compensation Court. Therefore, even if the actions of the defendants, AIU and AIG, were intentional, that fact does not necessarily exclude them from the exclusive jurisdiction of the Workers' Compensation Act.