Corporate Officers Open to CT Injury Lawsuits

The Connecticut Appellate Court ruled that a lower court judge was wrong when he threw out Anne Marie Roy’s lawsuit against the officers of manufacturer Dymax Corp. of Torrington, Connecticut. The individuals named as defendants were not entitled to the liability exemption in the state’s workers’ compensation law that bars suits against one’s employer, the appellate judges ruled.

Roy filed the suit after getting workers’ compensation benefits for the fractured hip and other injuries arising from a fall in the Dymax parking lot in 2005, according to the appellate opinion. The complaint named the individual corporate officers because they owned the lot in which she fell and leased it to the corporation.

After finding that the individual corporate officers did not qualify for the workers’ compensation exemption, the appellate court reversed the lower court dismissal and sent the case back for further proceedings.

The appellate judges explained that the state’s workers’ compensation law does not require injured workers to prove fault in order to get benefits, but in exchange, they are barred from suing a third party or their employer over their injuries.

The appellate court ruling is here.