Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP

March 13, 2006 : Samuel H. Foreman Secures PA Superior Court Victory in Employer Statutory Immunity Case

Samuel H. Foreman, a partner in the Pittsburgh office of Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP, won an appeal in the Pennsylvania Superior Court for VisionQuest National, Ltd.  A lawsuit was filed against VisionQuest by the estate of a VisionQuest groundskeeper who was electrocuted while attempting to remove a pair of sneakers thrown over a power line.  The Estate alleged VisionQuest was liable for in a wrongful death in spite of the employer's statutory Workers' Compensation immunity, alleging that the death of the groundskeeper was caused intentionally and that the Court should recognize an intentional tort exception to an employer's immunity from suit by its employees.  The Estate alternately argued that the employee was not acting in the scope of his employment when he attempted to remove the shoes from the line.  The Superior Court rejected the Estate's arguments, noting the strong precedent in Pennsylvania upholding employer immunity, and affirmed the dismissal of the case on preliminary objections.