Court Opinion

ID: 9528211
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:38:23.570407+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:26:35.740648
License: Public Domain

McFarland, J.,
dissenting: I believe, under the present law of Kansas, appellant’s injury did not arise out of her employment and is not compensable under the workmen’s compensation act. I would therefore simply reverse the trial court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the appellees.
My rationale is this. Although not adopting the same by name, the Kansas Supreme Court applied the “increased-risk” test in permitting recovery in Hensley v. Carl Graham Glass, 226 Kan. 256, 597 P.2d 641 (1979). Under this test, to be compensable the injury must be caused by an increased risk to which the claimant, as distinct from the general public, was subjected by his employment. In Hensley, being employed on the roof of a building *341increased the risk of injury by sniper fire over the street level general public’s risk. Hence, the injury was compensable.
In the case at hand, appellant was injured by a sexual assault from a stranger in a public restroom. From the undisputed facts the attack was aimed at appellant only because she entered the restroom, and was wholly unrelated to any job-related duties. The restroom was not secluded and was located just off the lobby of a large metropolitan hotel near the dining room and cocktail bar. The facts are readily distinguished from cases wherein the injured female employee was required to work in a secluded area. Unless the positional-risk test is adopted and applied, the appellant’s injury is not compensable. Kansas has not adopted this test. For a full discussion of the various tests, see 1 Larson’s Workmen’s Compensation Law § 6, p. 3-1 et seq. (1978).
I would reverse the summary judgment as to all defendants.