Supervisor Picks Worker Up By the Throat and Throws Him to the Concrete Floor
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The tire changer told this supervisor that his own supervisor had instructed him not to perform such work. When the tire changer refused to comply with the request to work on ambulance tires this supervisor, Mr. King, threatened him. As the tire changer started to walk away, King grabbed him by the throat, picked him up in the air, and threw him down to the concrete floor where he landed flat on his back.
In a most unusual case a worker collected workers' compensation benefits for injuries received in an altercation with his supervisor.
In this case, Williams v. Colony Tire Corp. the worker was a tire changer. In mid April 2000 a supervisor at the company told the tire changer to work on ambulance tires. The tire changer told this supervisor that his own supervisor had instructed him not to perform such work. When the tire changer refused to comply with the request to work on ambulance tires this supervisor, Mr. King, threatened him. As the tire changer started to walk away, King grabbed him by the throat, picked him up in the air, and threw him down to the concrete floor where he landed flat on his back.
Amazingly, the tire changer continued to work but later his pain worsened such that he sought medical attention in early May.
The tire changer did not return to work after May 8, 2000. On July 1, 2000 the employer took the tire changer off its payroll.
In late August of 2000 the tire changer was released to return to work. He started to work as a tire changer for a different company on September 12, 2000.
The tire changer continued to suffer more back pain and underwent surgery December of 2000.
On the tire changer's workers' compensation claim the Industrial Commission held that the altercation between the tire changer and his supervisor was a work-place injury and that the tire changers back injury was compensable.
The Industrial Commission found however that the injuries suffered by the tire changer were limited to muscle strain. The Industrial Commission refused to award the tire changer benefits for surgery. The Industrial Commission found that the tire changer had failed to meet its burden of proof that the altercation and the back surgery were related.