## Facts

- Theresa D. Messer, a certified registered nurse anesthetist, worked for Huntington Anesthesia Group, Inc. (HAGI) from 1988 to 2000.
- Messer had a herniated disc that limited her ability to stand and lift and caused chronic pain.
- Her physician restricted her to no more than eight hours per day and advised avoiding overtime.
- Messer alleged HAGI refused to reasonably accommodate these restrictions, continued to schedule extensive hours and call, and thereby worsened her condition and rendered her unable to work.
- Messer sued HAGI and individual shareholder-physicians under the West Virginia Human Rights Act (WVHRA), asserting disability discrimination and seeking damages for both physical aggravation and non-physical harms (emotional distress, humiliation, loss of dignity).
- The circuit court dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6), reasoning the Workers’ Compensation Act supplied the exclusive remedy for the injuries alleged.
- Messer appealed; review of the dismissal was de novo.

## Issues

1. Whether workers’ compensation exclusivity bars a WVHRA disability-discrimination claim when the alleged discrimination aggravates a work-related physical injury.
2. Whether the WVHRA applies to disabilities that arise from work-related injuries covered by workers’ compensation.
3. Whether, and to what extent, damages sought for physical injury versus discrimination-based harms must be separated between the two statutory schemes.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
- Workers’ compensation remains the exclusive remedy for compensation for the work-related physical injury itself.
- Workers’ compensation exclusivity does not categorically bar a WVHRA disability-discrimination claim merely because the disability is work-related.
- Messer’s WVHRA claim could proceed to the extent it sought relief for discrimination-based harms and related losses, subject to separating recoverable damages from those limited to workers’ compensation.

## Legal Principles

- The Workers’ Compensation Act addresses compensation for injuries or diseases occurring in the course of employment and shields employers from liability outside the workers’ compensation system for the physical injury itself.
- The WVHRA addresses employer conduct that discriminates against an employee because of disability; limiting the WVHRA to non-work-related disabilities would conflict with the Act’s remedial purpose.
- A statutory civil rights claim for disability discrimination is not preempted solely because the underlying disability is a work-related injury covered by workers’ compensation.
- Remedies must track the nature of the harm: recovery for the physical work injury per se is confined to workers’ compensation, while discrimination-based harms (including dignitary and emotional-distress damages and discrimination-caused economic losses) may be available under the WVHRA.

## Conclusion

The court held that workers’ compensation exclusivity does not bar an employee from pursuing a WVHRA disability-discrimination claim based on an employer’s refusal to accommodate a work-related disability, while preserving workers’ compensation as the exclusive remedy for the underlying physical injury itself, and remanded for further proceedings to sort recoverable damages accordingly.


Messer v. Huntington Anesthesia Grp., Inc., 218 W. Va. 4, 620 S.E.2d 144 (W. Va. 2005)