Poyser v. Newman & Co., Inc.
Poyser v. Newman & Co., Inc.
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
This appeal had its legal genesis in a trespass action which the appellant, Stephen Poyser, filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County against his employer, Newman & Company, Inc. (“Newman”). By that lawsuit
We granted an allowance of appeal to consider the question of whether the appellant’s second asserted ground for tort recovery, that his injury was caused by deliberate derelictions of the employer, operated to take the personal injury action out of the “exclusivity” provision of section 303(a) of the Act. Although the appellant’s suit also included a products-liability claim, that theory of recovery as such is not offered as a basis for negating the applicability of section 303(a).
Because the appellant suffered an adverse judgment on the pleadings, we must, for purposes of review, treat all of his well-pleaded allegations as being true. Cantwell v.
In support of the products liability claim, the Complaint alleged that the employer’s design and construction of the “notching” machine was defective because there was no cover or guard over the saw-blades to protect the hands of operators, and that such defect was the cause of the appellant’s injury. With respect to the companion theory of liability, the Complaint alleged that Newman, despite its awareness of the danger posed by the machine, deliberately forbade its workers from using a certain “feeding” device which would have greatly reduced the risk of hand injury. Another averment was that Newman also knew that the “notching” machine did not comply with federal and state safety regulations, and, for that reason, directed the appellant to remove it on the eve of an OSHA inspection which took place about eleven days before the accident. It was again placed in full operation when the safety inspectors departed. According to the Complaint, Newman’s course of conduct amounted to a deliberate and wanton disregard for the safety of its workers, and such was the cause of the appellant’s injury.
The liability of an employer under this act shall be exclusive and in place of any and all other liability to such employes, his legal representative, husband or wife, parents, dependents, next of kin or anyone otherwise entitled to damages in any action at law or otherwise on account of any injury or death as defined in section 301(c)(1) and (2) or occupational disease as defined in section 108. (Emphasis added.)
Section 303(a) is a version of the historical quid pro quo that employers received in return for being subjected to a statutory, no-fault system of compensation for worker injuries. Pursuant to its terms, an employer is given immunity from lawsuits by employees for any “injury” defined as such by section 301(c) of the Act, 77 P.S. § 411. In Kline v. Arden H. Verner Co., 503 Pa. 251, 469 A.2d 158 (1983), this Court upheld section 303(a) against a challenge of unconstitutionality, and, in so doing, observed that the Act “provides the exclusive means by which a covered employee can recover against an employer for injury in the course of his employment.” Id., 503 Pa. at 253, 469 A.2d at 159. We further stated that, because of the provision, a tort action by an employee against his employer for “any work-related injury” was barred. Id., 503 Pa. at 256, 469 A.2d at 160 (emphasis in original).
Despite the language of section 303(a) and our statements in Kline, the appellant contends that Newman in the instant case should not be permitted to assert the statutory immunity from common law actions for employee injury. In so arguing, the appellant does not rely on any concept of “dual capacity”. See, e.g., Budzichowski v. Bell Telephone Co. of Pennsylvania, 503 Pa. 160, 469 A.2d 111 (1983).
There is no Pennsylvania judicial authority supportive of the result the appellant seeks. The argument he presents is one based entirely on his view of the relationship between the Act and other laws and regulations which bear upon safety in the workplace. According to the appellant, if an employer is to be allowed to escape common law liability for intentional misconduct causing harm to a worker, governmental policies aimed at promoting job safety will be undermined. Analogous theories have been propounded by various writers on the subject of workmen’s compensation. Some of these commentators take the position that the present statutory system of compensation, in not providing the injured worker with all that he might recover in a tort action, relieves the employer from bearing the full cost of maintaining an unsafe plant. According to these theorists, such a result should not be countenanced where an employee’s injury has resulted from the employer’s intentional creation of an injury-causing hazard. See generally, Note, Exceptions to the Exclusive Remedy Requirements of Workers’ Compensation Statutes, 96 Harv. 1641, 1648 (1983).
It is true that the appellate courts of some other states have held that wanton and willful misconduct by an employer is tantamount to an intentional tort, and as such, pre
The appellant’s argument is an interesting one; but it is one that must be resolved by the General Assembly, not this Court. What he is asking us to do is to engraft upon section 303(a) of the Act an exception the legislature did not see fit to put there. A reading of the Act will disclose that the legislature was not unmindful of the issue of intentionally caused harm. For example, in section 301(c)(1), 77 P.S. § 411(1), it is provided that “an injury caused by an act of a third person intended to injure the employe because of reasons personal to him ...” does not fall within the statutory definition of a covered injury. (Emphasis added.) And, under section 205, 77 P.S. § 72, which immunizes an employee from tort actions for harm caused to a fellow employee, an exception is expressly made for the intentional infliction of harm. Since it is clear that the legislature had the issue of intentional harm in mind, and yet did not mention it in connection with section 303(a), we are constrained to conclude that the legislature did not intend the result for which the appellant argues.
Thus, the trial court was correct in holding that the appellant’s lawsuit was barred by the Act, and properly entered judgment on the pleadings in favor of the employer.
For the reasons set forth herein, the order of the Superior Court is affirmed.
. Act of June 2, 1915, P.L. 736, as amended, 77 P.S. § 481(a).
. The Reply concedes that the insurance carrier paid all applicable medical bills but alleges that only part of the wage loss was paid.
. According to the Complaint, Newman is in the business of "manufacturing, distributing and selling pallets and skids.” There is no allegation that the employer manufactures "notching” machines for sale to others.
. Under the "dual capacity" doctrine, “ 'an employer normally shielded from tort liability by the exclusive remedy principle may become liable in tort, to his own employee if he occupies, in addition to his capacity as employer, a second capacity that confers upon him obli
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
We are called upon in this case to determine whether the “exclusivity” provision of section 303(a) of the Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act (Act), 77 P.S. § 481(a), precludes a common law action against an employer who creates a hazard in the workplace by intentionally, wilfully and wantonly disregarding governmental safety regulations in conscious disregard of the risk of employee injury, where such injury, in fact, occurs. I believe that the Act does not bar this action. Accordingly, I dissent.
The majority has determined in this case that 1) appelleeemployer’s conduct does not arise to the level of an intentional tort; and 2) even if such conduct were the “legal equivalent” of an intentional tort, the Act precludes a common law action because intentional torts are not excepted from section 303(a) of the Act.
The majority states that the Act does not preserve “the right of an employee to sue in tort where his injury was caused by the employer’s intentional wrongdoing [in that t]here is no such provision in The Pennsylvania Workmen’s Compensation Act.” Maj.Op. at 38. I am not persuaded that the omission of a specific provision to this effect precludes this Court from finding that intentional injury inflicted by the employer is not exclusively compensable under the Act.
Sixty years ago, this Court determined that intentional conduct on the part of employees was a bar to compensation under the Act. Shoffler v. Lehigh Valley Coal Co., 290 Pa. 480, 484, 139 A. 192, 193 (1927) (“course of employment’ does not include ... injuries received in the commission of an act [by an employee] which is in direct violation of the law.”). Twelve years later, the legislature amended the Act to deny compensation when injury or death is “caused by employe’s violation of the law.” 77 P.S. § 431.
Further, when this Court first considered the constitutionality of the Act, this landmark legislation was properly
I would find, therefore, that injuries caused by employers’ intentional acts are not exclusively compensable under the Act.
The Montana Supreme Court stated in Sitzman v. Schumaker, 718 P.2d 657, 659 (Mont. 1986):
There are sound policy reasons for reaching this decision. The purpose of the Workers’ Compensation Act is to protect both the employer and the employee by incorporating a quid pro quo for negligent acts by the employer. The employer is given immunity from suit by an employee who is injured on the job in return for relinquishing his common law defenses. The employee is assured of compensation for his injuries, but foregoes legal recourse against his employer. To allow an employer to [commit an intentional tort] and hide behind the exclusivity clause of the Workers’ Compensation Act is to disregard the purpose of the Act. Other employers would have to pay for his protection. In effect, he would have bought the right to [intentionally harm] his employees. That is not a quid pro quo. The law does not allow a wrongdoer to benefit from his wrongs.
Accordingly, I would reverse the Order of Superior Court and deny appellee-employer’s motion for judgment on the pleadings.
. Act of 1915, June 2, P.L. 736, art. III, § 301(a), as amended, June 21, 1939, P.L. 520, § 1.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Stephen POYSER, Appellant, v. NEWMAN & COMPANY, INC., Appellee
- Cited By
- 124 cases
- Status
- Published