PERSONAL INJURY: Supreme Court affirms summary judgment in absence of evidence demonstrating substantial certainty of injury to employee

The plaintiff employee was injured when the excavator he was operating slipped and swung back and forward.  The employee brought action against his employer, alleging that it intended to create a working condition that was substantially certain to injure him or other employees by “rigging” the excavator to operate only at full speed.

The trial court granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the plaintiff could not prove the employer intended to create such a condition and thus the employer was immune from civil damages because of the exclusivity provision of the workers’ compensation act.  The Appellate Court affirmed.

The Supreme Court held summary judgment appropriate as there was no evidence to prove that the employer intended to create such a condition.  Such evidence might have included evidence of prior accidents with the excavator, a history of workplace safety violations, or evidence of deception.

Lucenti v. Laviero, 327 Conn. 764 (2018)