Intentional Tort

Intentional torts are situations where an employee has been injured and the injury was caused by something which the employer employer knew (or should have known) would cause the harm. An injured worker can bring an intentional tort suit even if they have received workers' compensation.

The intentional tort exists based on decisions of the Ohio Supreme Court, and its definition is contained in various Court decisions. The Ohio Legislature has made three attempts to limit or eliminate the intentional tort, but all three attempts have been declared unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court. A challenge to the fourth attempt to limit the intentional tort law is pending in the Supreme Court in 2009.

For summaries of intentional tort decisions by Ohio courts, with links to the cases, click here.

Other information:

• Court: The Supreme Court has held that federal workers' compensation law preempts a state intentional tort lawsuit.   (April, 2008)

• Court: A Court of Appeals has found that an Employer may have committed an intentional tort in a case where an employee was electrocuted after another employee had suffered a similar injury and the employer had not complied with federal safety requirements. (July, 2002)
  

• Court: A Court of Appeals has found that an Employer committed an intentional tort in a case where a machine had been modified and the employer had trained the employee to use an unsafe procedure. (July, 2002)
  

• Court: The Supreme Court has declared Ohio's "Empoyment Intentional Tort" Statute, R.C. 2745.01, unconstitutional in its entirety. (April, 1999)
  
  
• Court: A third Court of Appeals declares intentional tort statute unconstitutional. (December, 1998)
  
  
• Court: Another Court of Appeals declares intentional tort statute unconstitutional. (August, 1998)
  
  
• Court: Court declares intentional tort statute unconstitutional. (December, 1997)