JCC Denies Benefits Under Aggressor Doctrine After Workplace Fight

In Jeremy Burchell v. Advantage Steel, Inc./Bridgefield Casualty Insurance Company, OJCC Case No. 25-026551EBG, the claimant alleged injuries to his right eye, head, neck, and left shoulder after a workplace confrontation with his brother on October 7, 2025.

Judge Erik B. Grindal denied compensability after crediting witnesses who testified that the claimant threw the first punch. The order found the claimant was the initial aggressor, that the coworker responded in self-defense, and that the injuries were directly caused by the claimant's intentional effort to injure another person.

The practical takeaway is that workplace fights remain highly fact-dependent, but section 440.09(3) can bar benefits where the evidence shows the claimant's injury was occasioned primarily by a willful intent to injure another. The JCC also rejected the claimant's spoliation argument because the video was automatically overwritten after 26 to 28 days, no timely preservation request was proven, and the employer's description of the video was credited.

Source: Compensation Order