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Wimbush v. Confederate Packaging Inc.

Plaintiff could not base a claim for punitive damages on the property damage that resulted from an on-the-job injury.

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A belt drive on Confederate Packaging, Inc.’s cardboard box folding machine caught the pants leg of employee Bernard Wimbush, injuring his foot and destroying his pants and one boot. Wimbush alleges that the accident occurred, in part, because Confederate Packaging had removed a safety device from the machine. Wimbush received workers’ compensation benefits from Confederate Packaging for his physical injuries. He also sued Confederate Packaging for negligence in removing the device, seeking compensatory damages for the injury to his clothing and punitive damages for the alleged intentional creation of a dangerous condition. The trial court granted Confederate Packaging’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that that claim was barred by the exclusive remedy provision of the Workers’ Compensation Act.1 Wimbush appeals and we affirm.

The facts of this case are indistinguishable from those in Superb Carpet Mills v. Thomason.2 There, two employees were injured on the job when a latex tank exploded. Both employees received benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act for their personal injuries. They also sued their employer to recover property damage to their clothing and “additional damages for aggravating circumstances”3 —namely, the employer’s knowledge that safety devices on the tank had been altered.

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