PLAINTIFF ENTITLED TO WORKERS’ COMPENSATION BENEFITS FOR INJURIES CAUSED BY A CO-EMPLOYEE’S INTENTIONAL TORT (ASSAULT) (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department determined plaintiff was entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for injuries from an intentional tort (assault) by an employee:
Plaintiff alleged that he was injured when, as he was attempting to sit down, defendant, his coworker, pulled his chair out from under him, causing him to fall to the ground. After plaintiff’s accident, the Workers’ Compensation Board determined that he was entitled to benefits for a work-related injury.
An employee’s rights to Workers’ Compensation benefits is the employee’s exclusive remedy against his employer or coemployee for injuries sustained during his employment (see Workers’ Compensation Law §§ 11, 29[6]) … ). The Workers’ Compensation Law, however, does not prevent an employee from recovering for intentional torts, such as an assault … .
Here, the motion court properly denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing the claim for assault. There are issues of fact as to whether defendant’s conduct placed plaintiff in “imminent apprehension of harmful contact” … . Donnelly v Christian. 2020 NY Slip Op 02279, First Dept 4-16-20