Mauer v. Employers Insurance

OPINION

This appeal asks us to decide whether a self-inflicted workplace injury resulting from an employee’s impulsive, angry act is compensable under Nevada’s workers’ compensation law. We conclude it is not.

The facts are not disputed. Appellant Russell Mauer, while working in November 1995 for respondent Bryant Universal Roofers, hit his head on the corner of a large rooftop air conditioning unit. When Mauer hit his head on the unit a second time, he angrily hit the unit with his fist. As a result of his encounters with the air conditioner, Mauer sustained a superficial skull abrasion and…