 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Anderson v. Demolition Dynamics2/15/2000
Appeal by plaintiff from judgment entered 2 July 1998 by Judge W. Erwin Spainhour in Guilford County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 19 August 1999.
Plaintiff David A. Anderson, ancillary administrator of the estate of Gary R. Anderson (decedent), appeals the trial court's grant of defendant Demolition Dynamics, Inc.'s motion for summary judgment. For the reasons stated below, we reverse and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.
Pertinent facts and procedural history include the following: Plaintiff initiated the instant wrongful death suit 22 August 1996. Decedent died 19 August 1995 as a result of injuries suffered when he fell from an abandoned conveyor structure in a quarry. At the time, decedent and several employees of defendant were preparing the structure for demolition by means of explosives.
In his complaint, plaintiff alleged, inter alia, that defendant, through its agents and employees,
egligently and wantonly undermined the structural integrity of the conveyor system while Plaintiff's decedent Gary R. Anderson was working on the bridge conveyor frame,
and that such negligence was the proximate cause of decedent's death. Included in defendant's answer was the defense that
t the time of the incident that forms the subject matter of Plaintiff's complaint, [decedent] was in the employ of [defendant] and was covered by the provisions of the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Act, which provides the sole and exclusive remedy to Plaintiff.
On the basis of the foregoing, defendant subsequently moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, or alternatively for summary judgment. Following a hearing, the trial court entered summary judgment in favor of defendant 2 July 1998. Plaintiff timely appealed.
The Workers' Compensation Act (the Act), N.C.G.S. § 97-10.1 (1991), provides:
If the employee and the employer are subject to and have complied with the provisions of this Article, then the rights and remedies herein granted to the employee, his dependents, next of kin, or personal representative shall exclude all other rights and remedies of the employee, his dependents, next of kin, or representative as against the employer at common law or otherwise on account of such injury or death.
In addition, this Court has stated that an employee's remedies are exclusive as against the employer where the injury is caused by an accident arising out of and in the course of employment. Thus, the exclusivity provision of the Act precludes a claim for ordinary negligence, even when the employer's conduct constitutes willful or wanton negligence. Wake County Hosp. Sys. v. Safety Nat. Casualty Corp., 127 N.C. App. 33, 40, 487 S.E.2d 789, 793, disc. review denied, 347 N.C. 410, 494 S.E.2d 600 (1997) (citation omitted).
Summary judgment is appropriately granted when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that any party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. N.C.G.S. § 1A-1, Rule 56(c) (1990).
A summary judgment movant bears the burden of showing either that (1) an essential element of the non-movant's claim is nonexistent; (2) the non-movant is unable to produce evidence which supports an essential element of its claim; or, (3) the non-movant cannot overcome affirmative defenses raised in contravention of its claims. Lyles v. City of Charlotte, 120 N.C. App. 96, 99, 461 S.E.2d 347, 350 (1995), rev'd on other grounds, 344 N.C. 676, 477 S.E.2d 150 (1996). In ruling on such motion,
Page 1 2 3 4 5 North Carolina Personal Injury Attorneys
Personal Injury Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to Personal Injury Lawyers in your area.
|
|
By using the system, you agree to TERMS OF SERVICE
|