Griggs v. Bounce N' Around Inflatables, L.L.C.

248 So. 3d 563
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 6, 2018
DocketNO. 2017 CA 1448
StatusPublished

This text of 248 So. 3d 563 (Griggs v. Bounce N' Around Inflatables, L.L.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Griggs v. Bounce N' Around Inflatables, L.L.C., 248 So. 3d 563 (La. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

PETTIGREW, J.

*564The question before us is whether the trial court erred in finding that the plaintiffs' tort action seeking damages sustained in a work-related accident involving a minor employee is exempted from the exclusive remedy provisions of the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Act ("Act"). The trial court, relying upon jurisprudence out of the second and third circuits, held that minors, who are injured while illegally employed and performing an illegal task, have the option to recover in tort and awarded damages in favor of one of the plaintiffs. For the reasons that follow, we reverse in part, affirm in part, and render judgment dismissing all the plaintiffs' tort claims, with prejudice.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Bounce N' Around Inflatables, LLC ("BNA") is a party rental business that provides a variety of inflatables and other items for personal and corporate social events. The inflatables were stored in a warehouse on racks approximately 10 feet high and were moved around the warehouse on dollies, using a battery operated pallet-jack.1

Austin Griggs began working for BNA when he was 14 years old. Austin was 15 years old when he was injured on January 31, 2012. According to the record, BNA employed approximately 12 minors at the time of the incident in question. Austin testified that he had never been told by anyone at BNA that because he was a minor, he would need an employment certificate or work permit to work there. Austin was classified as a helper, responsible for cleaning and delivering the inflatables and picking them up from their rental locations.

Austin explained that on the day of the accident, they were picking up and sorting inflatables. As they were trying to get one of the inflatables on the pallet, they realized they needed to use the forklift to move it. Austin described what happened next as follows:

Me and Kenny put it on the forklift. We flipped it onto the prongs. We tried lifting it, and it was leaning off the front of it, so we decided that we needed to balance the weight on there, and I climbed on top of the inflatable to balance it out. It's like-it was just like a normal day. We would normally do that. And then we lifted it. I was on top of the inflatable, and a little bit of slack was hanging off the side, and it started to sway, and that's whenever I fell off the inflatable and I fell onto the ground, and then the inflatable fell behind me .... [W]henever I hit the ground, I was just worried. I didn't know if that inflatable was going to land behind me or if it had even fallen off the forklift. I was just trying to get out of the way, and as soon as I landed and I got in that squatting position and I tried to move, as soon as I reached out my left leg and my right leg was still on the ground, that inflatable fell and hit my lower back, and I just-I fell over.

Kenneth Matherne worked for BNA for approximately two years, from 2010 until 2012. He was asked about the process of moving the inflatables from the forklift onto the racks where they were stored. Matherne testified that it depended on the inflatable, i.e., sometimes they would come off but sometimes they needed some encouragement. He explained that they *565would either climb the racks to get level with the inflatable or, "[i]f the inflatable was unstable, [and] it had the likelihood to tip off of the forklift,... [they] would kind of just ride them up, stand on them to use [their] weight as a counterbalance to keep them on." Matherne continued, "we would ride it to the level that they would be inserted at so, that way, it wouldn't fall off prior to being put into the rack." When asked about the accident in question, Matherne stated:

To the best of my knowledge, I remember we were cleaning a water slide, which typically are larger and heavier, a little less-balanced. We had finished cleaning it, rolled it up, and we were trying to-this was the end of the shift in the afternoon. We were trying to pick it up. It went higher on a rack, and it was a little well-less-balanced, and I remember-I don't remember how this ended up, but I remember [Austin] was standing on top of it, and he was riding it up as I was-as I was controlling the forklift to lift it up. I recall it becoming unbalanced, beginning to tip. [Austin] realizing that, realizing it was going to fall, took matters into his own hands to control his fall and jumped. When he jumped, he happened to jump to the side that the forklift was leaning to, and the-as he landed, he looked up, and the inflatable fell off the lift and landed on his ... back and side, which caused the pressure to his foot.

Matherne added that only 10 to 15 percent of his job duties required him to spend time working on or around the forklift.

Jack Alan LeBlanc ("Mr. LeBlanc"), BIMA's owner, provided the following explanation on the "Employer Report of Injury/Illness" concerning Austin's accident: "Austin was placing units back in their location spots. The weight of the unit is 350lbs and round. Dolly and forklift. Austin was not running the forklift. The unit was laying flat on the forks and the unit rolled off from the side and caught Austin's back and right foot." Mr. LeBlanc added that Austin was not authorized to operate the forklift and that Austin spent "[m]aybe less than 5 percent" of his time around or working with the forklift.

Austin's mother Tasha testified that she did not know her son was injured prior to arriving to pick him up from work on the day of the incident. When Mr. LeBlanc told Tasha that he had insurance if needed, Tasha informed him that Austin had sufficient insurance coverage. Tasha took Austin to Ascension Urgent Care that evening, where he was diagnosed with a closed metatarsal fracture and told to seek further evaluation and treatment with an orthopedist.

Tasha brought Austin to Baton Rouge Orthopedic Clinic ("Clinic") the following morning. She began filling out paperwork for his visit with her insurance information and replied "work" to the question, "How did injury occur?" Tasha explained that when she returned the information sheet at the counter, she observed a Clinic employee "white out" some of the information and write "WC" across the whited out section. Tasha then called Mr. LeBlanc from her cell phone to arrange for Austin to be treated using Mr. LeBlanc's insurance. Mr. LeBlanc told Tasha that if they used his insurance, they could not say anything about Austin being on the forklift.

Austin was initially seen at the Clinic by Dr. Ricardo Rodriguez, who ordered an MRI for Austin's foot. It was later determined that Austin needed surgery to install fixation hardware for several fractures in his foot, which was performed by Dr. James Lalonde, Jr. A second surgery was required for removal of the hardware.

*566According to the record, throughout Austin's treatment, Mr. LeBlanc's workers' compensation insurer, Louisiana Commerce & Trade Association Self-Insurers' Fund ("LCTA"), paid Austin a weekly compensation benefit as well as all of his medical bills. Even after Tasha decided to pursue a civil claim, she did not decline any workers' compensation benefits for Austin.

Tasha testified that after speaking with her older son Trey, who also worked at the company, she found out exactly what had happened on the day of Austin's accident.

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Bluebook (online)
248 So. 3d 563, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/griggs-v-bounce-n-around-inflatables-llc-lactapp-2018.