Preview:

101445 -- Douglas v. Ad Astra Information Systems -- Malone -- Kansas Court of Appeals

|||| No. 101,445 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS DANNY DOUGLAS, Appellee, v. AD ASTRA INFORMATION SYSTEMS, L.L.C., and HARTFORD INSURANCE COMPANY, Appellants. SYLLABUS BY THE COURT 1. The Workers Compensation Act (the Act) shall be liberally construed for the purpose of bringing employers and employees within the provisions of the Act. 2. Under K.S.A. 2008 Supp. 44-508(f), an employee is barred from recovery under the Act for injuries to the employee while engaged in recreational or social events when two circumstances are both met. First, the subsection only applies where the employee was under no duty to attend the recreational or social event. Second, the subsection only applies where the injury did not result from the performance of tasks related to the employee's normal job duties or as specifically instructed to be performed by the employer. 3. Under the doctrine of operative construction, the Workers Compensation Board's (Board) interpretation of the law is entitled to judicial deference. If there is a rational basis for the Board's interpretation of a statute, it should be upheld upon judicial review. However, the Board's determination on questions of law is not conclusive and, though persuasive, is not binding on the court. 4. Under the circumstances of this case, the Board did not err by consulting the factors set forth in 2 Larson's Workers' Compensation Law

Download 101445.pdf

Kansas Law