ITT Hartford Insurance Group v. Trowbridge

BAKER, Judge.

Today we decide a question of first impression: whether an employee may commence a civil action against his employer’s worker’s compensation carrier before the worker’s compensation board makes a final decision on the employee’s claim for benefits.

Appellant-defendant ITT Hartford Insurance Group (ITT) filed this certified interlocutory appeal challenging the denial of its motion to dismiss appellee-plaintiff Jon Robert Trowbridge’s amended complaint.

FACTS

While working at the Ponderosa Steakhouse in Washington, Indiana, on September 22, 1989, Trowbridge slipped on grease and…