Can I Sue a Georgia Employer If I’m Assaulted at Work?

Most Georgia workplace injuries are covered by workers’ compensation. If you are hurt in an accident that occurs while you are at work, your employer must pay certain medical and wage replacement benefits regardless of who was at-fault. In exchange for paying these workers’ compensation benefits, the employer is immune from any potential personal injury lawsuit the employee might bring. This is because Georgia considers workers’ compensation an “exclusive remedy” for resolving such matters.

Now, workers’ compensation does not cover third-party liability. For example, if a drunk driver hits you while you are making a delivery for your employer, you can still file a personal injury lawsuit against the drunk driver separate from any workers’ compensation claim you file. Of course, your employer may claim a portion of any personal injury award or settlement you receive to offset any workers’ compensation benefits paid to you.

Dunkin’ Donuts Operator Won’t Face Personal Injury Claim Over Employee Stabbing

What about a situation where you are injured at work due to the criminal act of a third party? Does the exclusive remedy of workers’ compensation still prevent you from filing a personal injury lawsuit against your employer? The Georgia Court of Appeals recently addressed these questions and held that yes, workers’ compensation still protects the employer in these scenarios.

The case before the Court, Peachstate Concessionaires, Inc. v. Bryant, involved a woman working as a cashier at a Dunkin’ Donuts. A disgruntled customer, apparently incensed that the store was out of an item he requested, asked to speak with the female employee’s manager. When she said the manager was busy, the customer went around the counter, pulled out a knife, and stabbed the employee in the arm.

The employee subsequently filed a personal injury lawsuit against her employer asserting premises liability. That is, she alleged her employer’s negligent lack of security led to her stabbing. The employer moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing it fell within the “exclusive remedy” of workers’ compensation. The trial court declined to dismiss the case, but the Court of Appeals held the employer was entitled to dismissal.

Citing its prior decisions, the Court of Appeals explained that a “felonious assault by a third party upon an employee is treated as an accident covered by [workers’ compensation], so long as the willful act is not directed against the employee for reasons personal to the employee.” In other words, since the attacker stabbed the employee as the result of “his displeasure with her job performance,” as opposed to some sort of personal animus unrelated to her job, the employer was still under the protection of workers’ compensation law.

Contact an Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyer Today

If you suffer a serious injury at work, or anywhere else, and someone else is responsible, it is imperative that you speak with a qualified Atlanta personal injury lawyer as soon as possible to preserve your legal ability to seek compensation. Contact Morain & Buckelew, LLC, today at (404) 448-3146, to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17484731226047067467