Johns-Manville Products Corp. v. Superior Court: The Not-So-Exclusive Remedy Rule

Authors

Karl Olson

Abstract

Should a worker who is the victim of an intentional tort be able to sue his or her employer? In Johns-Manville Products Corp. v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court held that, although workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy for initial injuries suffered by an asbestos worker whose employer allegedly concealed the dangers of his job, the employee could sue for aggravation of his injuries caused by the alleged fraudulent concealment of the disease and its cause. This Comment examines the exclusivity of the workers' compensation remedy in California. The Comment concludes that the Johns-Manville court should have allowed employees to recover damages not only for initial injuries, but for subsequent aggravation of those injuries, when the employer fraudulently and actively conceals or lies about the existence of an employment hazard.

Recommended Citation

Karl Olson, Johns-Manville Products Corp. v. Superior Court: The Not-So-Exclusive Remedy Rule, 33 Hastings L.J. 263 (1981).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol33/iss1/5