The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that an employee who signed a Workers’ Compensation Disclaimer at the time of commencing employment effectively waived her right to file claims against clients of her employer for damages otherwise covered under the Workers’ Compensation Act. In this case, Bowman v. Sunoco, Inc., the employee, Ms. Bowman filed a negligence claim for injuries she sustained on Sunoco property. At the time of the injury Ms. Bowman was employed as a private security guard with Allied Barton Security Services. Bowman contended that the Disclaimer she signed was contrary to public policy and, therefore, unenforceable. The Court disagreed and ruled that the release was not violative of public policy since it did not eliminate Bowman’s right to file a claim for workers’ compensation benefits.

If you’ve suffered a work injury and have questions about your claim, contact me at tcummings@dlplaw.com or call (570) 347-1011 for a free consultation.

Disclaimer: The above article is for instructive purposes only and each case is fact sensitive.  Consultation with an attorney should be obtained instead of reliance upon the legal issues discussed in this column.