Teen Has Tort Claim for Loss of Her Virginity
A teenager's loss of her virginity to a grocery store co-worker is not an "injury" covered by worker's compensation law, the Idaho Supreme Court said, ruling she can sue her employer for tort damages.
In a unanimous opinion, the court reversed an Ada County District Court judge who found that the Jane Doe plaintiff suffered an injury -- a broken hymen -- caused by an accident and dismissed her negligence claims against the Albertson's grocery store chain.
Even if Doe's "alleged broken hymen constitutes a physical injury," Justice Roger S. Burdick explained, it was not
"an unexpected, undesigned, and unlooked for mishap, or untoward event." It was something that typically occurs when a virgin engages in sexual intercourse.
Doe was a minor working as a grocery bagger when she had sex with a 38-year-old assistant manager. He pleaded guilty to statutory rape and served a year in jail.
Worker's compensation is the exclusive legal remedy in Idaho for "a personal injury caused by an accident" in the workplace. "Since there was no accident as defined by [Idaho law], Jane Doe did not suffer a personal injury ... and her claims are not preempted," the Supreme Court said.
5/9/05