Donnelly v. Herron

**Donnelly v. Herron: Ohio Supreme Court Ruling on Workplace Injury Lawsuits** This case involved a workplace injury at Saggio Protective Services, Inc. where an employee named Donnelly was hurt due to the alleged negligent actions of a coworker, Herron, who was working as a security guard. Donnelly was fired and then sued both the company for wrongful termination and Herron personally for causing the injury. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled against Donnelly on both claims. The court found that Herron could not be sued personally because Ohio's workers' compensation law (R.C. 4123.741) protects coworkers from personal lawsuits when their negligent actions happen during the normal course of their job duties. Since Herron was acting as a security guard when the incident occurred, he had legal immunity from being sued. This ruling matters for workers in two important ways. First, if you're injured by a coworker's negligence at work, you generally cannot sue that individual worker personally—your remedy is typically limited to workers' compensation benefits. Second, this same protection works in your favor, meaning you're generally protected from personal lawsuits if you accidentally injure a coworker while doing your job.