A Philadelphia nursing home does not have to face negligence claims from a janitor injured there, a Superior Court panel has ruled.
The decision upholds a lower court ruling that said SC Rehab and Nursing Center LLC, also known as Somerton Center, was not liable for additional compensation for injuries sustained by Troy White, who while on break, fell from a toilet seat that was not properly fastened, according to court documents. White worked as a janitor at Somerton Center but was contracted through Serene Health Services, which court documents show was hired by the facility.
White already received workers’ compensation benefits through Serene Health Service, but he also sued Somerton, alleging the facility was negligent for not properly securing the toilet seat and bore overall liability. The court’s decision noted that White required medical treatment for his injuries.
“The trial court found merit in Somerton’s claim that it was immune from liability under Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act) because of its status as White’s ‘statutory employer’ at the time he was injured,” the decision from the Superior Court said. “We now affirm on that same ground.”
Under the state law, employees must pursue work-related injury claims through the workers compensation system and cannot also sue their employers for negligence, with few exceptions.
Care Compare records indicate Somerton also goes by the name Accela Rehab and Care Center. The 1-star facility is licensed for 225 beds and is affiliated with the Imperial Healthcare Group. The court documents note that Somerton leases the property – the nursing home – from “another entity who is not a party in this case.”
But the court, in applying a five-element test developed to clarify the definition of a statutory employer, found that Somerton met the threshold to be considered as such.
“The trial court granted summary judgment for Somerton, agreeing with its contention that the negligence claim against it was barred due to its status as a statutory employer,” the Superior Court wrote in its decision.
After losing at a lower court, White refiled and alleged that Somerton was liable for his injuries, which were not detailed in the court’s decision, due to its faulty equipment. However, Somerton argued that “White had produced no evidence that [Somerton] had actual or constructive knowledge of a defect in the bathroom White was injured in.”
The Superior Court agreed and dismissed White’s argument, saying there was “no merit” to his claims.
A representative for Somerton declined to provide a comment to McKnight’s Long-Term Care News for this article.
