Workers’ Compensation · Primary-source case analysis

Mountain Timber: A State Could Require Industry-Funded Workers’ Compensation

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published September 1, 2026

Mountain Timber Co. v. Washington reviewed a no-fault system funded by employer assessments and administered as a public insurance program.

The statute replaced private accident liability

Covered workers received scheduled compensation from a state fund, while participating employers generally obtained protection from ordinary damages actions.

Industry pooling served a public purpose

The legislature could treat industrial injury as a cost of hazardous enterprise and spread that cost among employers in classified industries.

Exact loss tracing was unnecessary

An employer’s assessment did not have to equal the injuries in its own workplace. A pooled charge reasonably related to the industry risk was not an arbitrary taking.

The constitutional challenge failed

The Court sustained the assessment and administrative structure against due-process and equal-protection objections, without deciding benefits under any modern statute.

Key takeaways

• Identify the statute governing the injury date.
• Separate coverage and benefit questions from tort fault.
• Apply the correct industry classification and assessment rules.
• Use current California law rather than treating this historical case as a benefit schedule.