Amici Group: Expansion of Wash. Workers’ Comp Law Would Impose ‘Expansive Tort Liability on Employers’

SEATTLE –– A group of amici have filed a brief in an asbestos appeal before Washington’s highest court, arguing that the plaintiffs’ interpretation of an exception in the state’s workers’ compensation act “would not be consistent with the legislature’s intent.”

According to the Jan. 10 brief, the Washington Supreme Court is addressing the question of whether an employer can be held liable for post-exposure asymptomatic sub cellular changes under the Industrial Insurance Act’s “deliberate intention” exception.

According to the brief, the IIA’s deliberate intention exception allows employees to bring claims against their employers for injuries resulting from “deliberate intention” …