Supreme Court Overrules Precedent Allowing Workers to Sue Employers in Tort

The Oregon Supreme Court has overturned its own precedent, which had recognized that an injured worker's constitutional right to a remedy allowed workers to bring a tort suit if they were unable to pursue a workers' compensation claim. The court's decision to abrogate the rule from Smothers v. Gresham Transfer Inc. arose in the context of a medical malpractice suit over a botched surgery on a 6-month old child. A jury determined that Lori Horton was entitled to more than $12 million in damages, but the trial judge determined that the Oregon Tort Claims Act limited the l...