Delgado v. Phelps Dodge, 131 N.M. 272, 34 P.3d 1148 (2001).

Our client’s husband, Reynaldo “Junior” Delgado, was burned alive after he was ordered by his employer to drive a flammable vehicle into a pool of molten slag to retrieve a ladle of the same substance. This task was completely unnecessary. The ladle could have been removed safely and without risk to human life if the company had simply been willing to shut down production for a few hours.

This case dramatically changed the law in New Mexico after we took it all the way to the New Mexico Supreme Court. As a result, workers can now hold their employers responsible outside the Worker’s Compensation Act when the employer intentionally, willfully or with utter disregard for the circumstances requires them to do something that may get them seriously injured or killed. As the Supreme Court said in its written decision, this change in the law will hopefully make dangerous workplaces safer for working men and women by making employers responsible for their actions.

Past successes cannot be an assurance of future success because each case must be decided on its own merits.