LaTourette v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board

Opinion

MOSK, J.

Decedent Elston LaTourette was on a business trip when he suffered a cardiac arrest caused by a preexisting medical condition and was hospitalized. After undergoing multiple heart surgeries, he died from complications, apparently caused by a bacterial infection contracted in the course of treatment. We address the question whether his estate is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. The answer is negative. The injury leading to death was noncompensable under Labor Code section 3600, which requires that an injury “aris[e] out of and in the course of the employment.”…