Workers' Compensation in Joker Movie

Tampa, FL (WorkersCompensation.com) - If you have not seen the Joker Movie, take note because there may be some spoilers in this article. Joker, portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, broke box office records as the highest grossing R-Rated movie of all time. What some may not have caught is that there is a major workers’ compensation accident in this movie.

The movie shows the transition of Arthur Fleck as he becomes increasingly more disturbed, and less medicated until he totally unravels into the joker. He idolized a talk show host named Murray Franklin. He was invited to be on his show after footage of his unflattering stand-up comedy went viral. However, when Arthur realized it was all being done to mock him he became enraged and shot Murray Franklin in the head on live television.

For those of us in the workers’ compensation industry who watched this gruesome scene in the theater, this being an industrial accident may not have been the first thing that crossed our minds. However, a simple analysis shows that this was a high profile workers’ compensation accident.

Let’s assume first of all that workers’ compensation exists in Gotham City. Next, let’s assume that Murray Franklin’s network carries workers’ compensation insurance. It seemed pretty-high profile, so this is not a stretch.

It goes without question that poor Murray was in the course and scope of employment at the time of the accident. He was in action for the benefit of his station and was live on the air on his television show.

It would not be difficult to show that the accident arose out of his employment or that the major contributing cause of his injuries was the industrial accident. He suffered a deadly bullet wound to the head, which appeared to cause him to pass away instantaneously.

Many states have workers’ compensation death benefits that would have benefited Murry and his family if he had children. These benefits can also include money to cover Murry’s funeral expenses.

It would be hard pressed to see a way that the hypothetical employer/carrier could contest compensability especially because the movie did not go into Murry’s medical history. There could also be subrogation in this case because Murry’s estate could sue Joker for wrongful death in the Gotham civil court system.

Hopefully, Batman has done enough work to clean up Gotham so that the workers’ compensation courts can be a fair place to litigate disputes if they arise. We have seen that Batman has had his share of on-the-job injuries.

However, deposing or trying to get the Joker to appear in court may be problematic. He is quite the fan of violence and explosives and it may not be safe for the parties involved. Some are waiting to see if there will be a sequel to the Joaquin Phoenix Joker Movie. If there is one, we will have to wait and see what other workers’ compensation injuries that movie brings.

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