Negligence : Co-Employer Liability - Independent Duty Of Care

Stephanie Maniscalco//February 16, 2017//

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Where a plaintiff, who was injured after she fell from a ladder that her co-worker did not fully lock and secure, sued the co-worker for negligence, the trial court’s dismissal of the action is reversed and remanded because the plaintiff sufficiently alleged that her injury resulted from transitory risks created by her co-worker in carrying out the details of her work, which was a breach of the duty defendant owed the plaintiff and which was separate and distinct from their employer’s non-delegable duty to provide a safe workplace.

Judgment is reversed and remanded.

Bierman v. Violette (MLW No. 70178/Case No. ED100946 – 10 pages) (Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, Clayton III, J.) Appealed from circuit court, St. Louis County, Bresnahan, J. (Eric O. Wolfgram for appellant) (James G. Nowogrocki and Kathleen Mannion Dunnegan for respondent).

Read the full text of this opinion. (PDF)