Redman Industries, Inc. v. Lang

The issue in this workers’ compensation case is whether a claimant’s injury is compensable when the injury was caused by an assault by a coworker at the workplace. We hold that claimant’s injury is compensable.

We take the following undisputed facts from the Court of Appeals’ opinion.

“Claimant, a Caucasian male, worked at employer’s plant with [assailant], an African-American, male co-worker. Claimant installed windows on manufactured homes, and [assailant] installed doors. On August 3 or 4, 1994, claimant jokingly called [assailant] a ‘watermelon,’ which angered [assailant]. On August 4,…