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Case Law Database

Access over workers' compensation decisions, including En Banc, Significant Panel Decisions, and writ-denied cases.

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Sampaio v. Atlantic-Heydt, LLC

Gilmar Sampaio, a mason, sustained a severe eye injury at a construction site in midtown Manhattan when an oxygen tank exploded due to an unknown person's prank. He filed a negligence action against four companies, JDP Mechanical, Inc., Pavarini Construction Co., Inc., Atlantic-Heydt, LLC, and Solow Building Company, L.L.C., alleging their failure to prevent the incident. The defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing Sampaio had not raised a genuine issue of material fact regarding a breached duty of care or negligence. The court ultimately concluded that the bizarre prank was not a foreseeable hazard and that the defendants did not owe Sampaio a legal duty to implement more protective measures, such as locking tanks away or installing video surveillance. Consequently, the court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment, dismissing the case with prejudice.

NegligenceConstruction AccidentEye InjuryOxygen Tank ExplosionSummary JudgmentForeseeability of RiskDuty of CareFederal RegulationsState RegulationsProximate Cause

References

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Dec 07, 1987

Claim of Gibbs v. Orange County Sheriff's Department

This case involves an appeal from a Workers' Compensation Board decision which initially ruled that a Deputy Sheriff's death by 'Russian Roulette' was an accidental injury sustained in the course of his employment, thus awarding benefits to the claimant's decedent. The decedent, a newly appointed Deputy Sheriff, died on duty after intentionally playing Russian Roulette with his service revolver. The Board's rationale was that the death stemmed from the decedent's miscalculation of the revolver's action due to incomplete weapons training. However, the appellate court reversed this decision, concluding that the evidence was insufficient to link the death to employment. The court found that the decedent's act constituted a substantial deviation from his employment duties, classifying it as an intentional and highly dangerous game rather than a playful prank or momentary curiosity, and thus deemed it not compensable. The claim was subsequently dismissed.

Russian RouletteDeputy SheriffWorkers' CompensationScope of EmploymentIntentional MisconductDeviation from DutySelf-Inflicted InjuryWeapons TrainingFatal AccidentNew York Appellate Division

References

Case No. MISSING

Regular Panel Decision

Cassell v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.

The case concerns whether an injury sustained by a stagehand, Cassell, while working for Wichita Theatre Company, "had to do with and originated in the business of his employer" under the Workmen's Compensation Act. Cassell was injured when a stage manager, in jest, fired a pistol, believed to be unloaded, at him. The Court of Civil Appeals at Amarillo initially reversed a District Court judgment that awarded Cassell compensation, ruling the injury did not originate in the employer's business. However, the Commission of Appeals recommended affirming the District Court's judgment. The Supreme Court of Texas, upon review, determined that the Texas statutes, modeled after English Acts, do sustain the award of compensation to Cassell. The court reasoned that pranks by co-employees, even careless ones, constitute a hazard inherent in an employment requiring employees to work with others, thus making the injury a risk of employment. The court reversed the Court of Civil Appeals' decision and affirmed the District Court's judgment.

Workers' CompensationScope of EmploymentEmployee InjuryWorkplace AccidentPrankPistol IncidentTexas LawAppellate ReviewHazard of EmploymentCourse of Employment

References

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Sampaio v. Atlantic-Heydt, LLC

NegligenceConstruction AccidentEye InjuryOxygen Tank ExplosionSummary JudgmentForeseeability of RiskDuty of CareFederal RegulationsState RegulationsProximate Cause

Claim of Gibbs v. Orange County Sheriff's Department

Russian RouletteDeputy SheriffWorkers' CompensationScope of EmploymentIntentional MisconductDeviation from DutySelf-Inflicted InjuryWeapons TrainingFatal AccidentNew York Appellate Division

Cassell v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co.

Workers' CompensationScope of EmploymentEmployee InjuryWorkplace AccidentPrankPistol IncidentTexas LawAppellate ReviewHazard of EmploymentCourse of Employment