Haller Beverage Corp. v. Department of Industry, Labor & Human Relations

The Wisconsin Workmen’s Compensation Act provides that “. . . where injury results from the intoxication of the employee, the compensation and death benefit provided herein shall be reduced 15%. . . .” The burden of proof is upon the employer to establish: (1) The fact of intoxication; (2) That the injury was caused by the intoxication.

On the issue as to intoxication, the employer and insurance carrier relied upon the .29 percent blood test and expert witness testimony that a person with a .29 percent alcohol by weight in the blood was intoxicated. The widow relied upon the testimony of a…