By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//August 6, 2013//
Wisconsin Court of Appeals
Civil
Employment – workers’ compensation
Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy available to a police officer injured because of another officer’s negligence.
“The statute had an effective date of January 1, 1978. However, the statute was quickly amended to delete the indemnification of WIS. STAT. § 895.46 from the coemployee exception. See 1977 Wis. Laws, ch. 418, § 583w. The effective date of the amendment was May 18, 1978. Therefore, the coemployee exception of § 102.03(2) specifically eliminated a local government unit’s obligation to pay judgments under § 895.46. To conclude otherwise now would contradict the legislature’s specific intent in amending § 102.03(2) in 1978. Such an interpretation would undermine the fundamental premise of the legislature: worker’s compensation for injuries without regard to fault in exchange for avoiding fault-based coemployee litigation and unpredictable damages. Such an interpretation, as the Floreses seek, would also require us to ignore § 102.03(2), which we cannot do. See Liberty Grove Town Bd. v. Door Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, 2005 WI App 166, ¶14, 284 Wis. 2d 814, 702 N.W.2d 33 (‘Statutes should be interpreted so that no provision is rendered meaningless.’).”
Affirmed.
Recommended for publication in the official reports.
Dist. I, Milwaukee County, Witkowiak, J., Kessler, J.
Attorneys: For Appellant: Guerin, D. Michael, Milwaukee; Keppel, Kathryn A., Milwaukee; Strohbehn, Christopher L., Milwaukee; For Respondent: Houren, Maurita F., Milwaukee; O’Lochlayne, D. S., Waukesha; Ratzel, James C., Brookfield