Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. County of Riverside

On March 25, 1977, two employees of the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company (employer) were killed in a vehicle accident in the County of Riverside. One of the employees was J. S. Lambert, the husband of appellant Dorothy Mae Lambert (widow). Employer filed an action against the County of Riverside (County) to recover workers’ compensation benefits paid on account of the death of its employees. Widow’s complaint in intervention in the employer’s action was dismissed after County’s demurrer was sustained without leave to amend. Widow appeals.

The employer timely filed a claim against the County asserting that a dangerous condition of the roadway on which the accident occurred was a proximate cause of the accident, describing the circumstances surrounding the accident and claiming the right to recover $55,000 in death benefits paid to the survivors of each of its deceased employees and burial expenses in the amount of $1,000 paid to the survivors of each decedent. The County rejected the claim, and the employer timely filed an action in Riverside Superior Court to recover damages, including inter alia reimbursement of $112,000 in benefits paid to the survivors of its…