Question of fact as to coverage for gross negligence when employee fails to stop a ride resulting in fatal injuries to coworker.

Factual issues, such as the notice and delay and/or the operator’s abandonment of his post to stop a conveyor belt, were found to be enough to reverse summary judgment on the issue of coverage and gross negligence. The Supreme Court of Iowa gives a detailed analysis of policy language, and while gross negligence is not an accident nor an occurrence, such as the fall onto the conveyor belt, the following action of delaying in stopping the belt, which caused repeated head trauma and ultimately the death of an employee, raised factual questions that prevented summary judgment.

^{Case Law Alerts, 3rd Quarter, July 2021 is prepared by Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin to provide information on recent developments of interest to our readers. This publication is not intended to provide legal advice for a specific situation or to create an attorney-client relationship. Copyright © 2021 Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin, all rights reserved. This article may not be reprinted without the express written permission of our firm.}