United States: Law Firm's Security Officer Could Not Sue Firm in Tort for Alleged "Pain and Suffering" Injuries

A former law firm security officer may not maintain a civil action against his former employer for alleged Title VII discrimination, wrongful termination, and “pain and suffering” injuries allegedly suffered by the plaintiff following an altercation between the security officer and his supervisor, held a federal district court. Since the plaintiff's injuries, if any, arose out of a workplace incident, the tort claim was barred by the exclusive remedy provisions of the District of Columbia Workers' Compensation Act. The court acknowledged that it must hold the pleadings of a pro se party, such as the plaintiff, to a lower standard, but held nevertheless that the cause of action must be dismissed.

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., the Feature National Columnist for the LexisNexis Workers’ Compensation eNewsletter, is co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

LexisNexis Online Subscribers: Citations below link to Lexis Advance.

See Harley v. Covington & Burling, LLC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 85820 (D. D.C., May 15, 2020)

See generally Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 100.01.

Source: Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the nation’s leading authority on workers’ compensation law

For a more detailed discussion of the case, see

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