Reckless, Negligent and Not Compensable

April 19th, 2011 by

Last September we blogged the sorry saga of Illinois trooper Matt Mitchell. He was heading toward an accident scene, siren blazing, texting his girlfriend and weaving in and out of traffic at a mind-boggling 126 miles per hour. (There was no urgency, as other troopers were already at the scene.) He crossed the median and slammed into a car coming the other way, killing teenage sisters Kelli and Jessica Uhl. Three days after pleading guilty to criminal charges, he filed for workers comp benefits. We expected that he would be able to collect; after all, comp is no fault and Mitchell was certainly in the “course and scope of employment.”
We guessed wrong. An arbitrator found him ineligible, saying he neglected his duties as a trooper by taking “unjustifiable” risks. He was ineligible, in effect, because he knowingly and willfully put himself and others at risk. Mitchell is appealing the arbitrator’s decision.
Carved in Stone
In an effort to make sure that the ugly circumstances of this incident are not repeated, the , , ,