Understanding the Limits of Employer Liability Under North Carolina’s Woodson Exception
The exclusivity provision of the North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act (the “Act” ) normally prevents an employee from suing his employer in civil court for work injuries. The employee is normally relegated to filing a workers’ compensation claim with the North Carolina Industrial Commission . However, the North Carolina Supreme Court has allowed an exception to the Act’s exclusivity provision in certain circumstances. Woodson v. Rowland , 329 N.C. 330, 407 S.E.2d 222 (1991). That narrow exception allows an employee to sue his employer in civil court if “an employer intentionally engages in misconduct knowing it is substantially certain to cause serious injury or death to employees and an employee is injured or killed by that misconduct . . .” Woodson , 329 N.C. at 340-41, 407 S.E.2d at 228. This exception has historically been strictly interpreted and very few, if any cases have ever met the Woodson standar...