Benavidez v. Sierra Blanca Motors

OPINION

MINZNER, Justice.

Jose Ventura Benavidez, an inmate at the Roswell Correctional Center (the RCC), sought workers’ compensation benefits for injuries he sustained while participating in an inmate-release program at Sierra Blanca Motors. Upon cross-motions for summary judgment, the workers’ compensation judge held that Benavidez’s status as a prisoner precluded his receipt of benefits and granted summary judgment in favor of Sierra Blanca. The Court of Appeals reversed the judge’s grant of summary judgment to Sierra Blanca, concluding as a matter of law that Benavidez was Sierra Blanca’s…