Boatner v. Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center, Inc.

THIBODEAUX, Judge.

This is an appeal from a dismissal of plaintiff’s personal injury lawsuit after a hearing on defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. It presents the issue of whether a co-employee’s practical joke which unintentionally causes injury to another co-employee vitiates the exclusivity provisions of the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Act and permits an action in tort.

Both the plaintiff, RITA GALE BOAT-NER, and one of the defendants, SHEILA BROUSSARD CHAMPAGNE, were employed as nurses by Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette. While engaging in the scope of…