Georgia Law Blog

On July 9, 2007, the Georgia Court of Appeals handed down its decision in Patterson v. Bristol Timber Company. In this case, the plaintiff filed a person injury suite against Bristol Timber Company. The injured employee, working for a Georgia trucking company, was contracted to deliver wood chips to Bristol Timber Company by his employer. A work accident occurred when the injured worker fell off a ladder onto a front loader. Although this case involved other legal issues aside from the workers’ compensation case, the primary basis for dismissal was Exclusive Remedy Provision of Georgia Workers’ Compensation Law.

In this case, it is important to keep in mind the hierarchy of the companies involved. The Court reasoned that the personal injury lawsuit could not be maintained against Bristol due to it being a statutory employer under the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act. This is because Bristol hired Brownlow to haul the wood chips from their loading docks to inland. Patterson was injured on Bristol’s premises in the course of his work for Bownlow while performing obligations the contract. Therefore, the Court found these facts fall squarely into O.C.G.A §34-9-8(a) & (d).

This case involves the issue of statutory employment. Most states have, through their respective workers’ compensation statutes, established rules protecting workers of sub-contractors who do not have workers’ compensation insurance. Under the laws as discussed in this case, an employee may bring a workers’ compensation claim against statutory employees. Of course, there is a flip side to this coin being that the statutory employers, in exchange for being responsible under Georgia’s Workers’ Compensation law, enjoy tort immunity pursuant to Georgia’s Exclusive Remedy doctrine. Many injured workers in Georgia do not know that, in most instances, they can only file worker’s compensation claim their employer if they are hurt on the job. Thus, personal injury claims and civil suits for negligence against an injured worker's employer are generally frowned upon. These claims may come in all sorts of shapes and fashions including slip and fall cases, claims against co-workers in the operation of machinery, failure to maintain machinery and vehicles, car accidents, truck accidents, and other various dangers that exists in the work place. These legal issues can be complex. In addition, many of the cases that have emerged in this area are gray at best. If you or a loved one has a situation and would like an opinion as to whether or not you can bring a personal injury lawsuit against an employer, in addition to a workers’ compensation claim, please do not hesitate to contact my office or another law firm that handles workers’ compensation and personal injury cases.