Downey v. Bexley

In Downey v. Bexley, 253 Ga. 125 (317 SE2d 523) (1984), the Supreme Court of Georgia recognized an exception to the immunity from tort suits conferred by statute upon fellow employees of an injured employee. In Downey, the Supreme Court held that "where a professional co-employee is charged with fraud, deceit, and violation of professional trust, he may be held liable in tort for his wrongdoing to an injured co-employee." Id. The Court explained that it reached this result, not because of any provision of our Workers' Compensation Act, but because of the unique duty owed others by professional persons like the defendant, a company physician who operated an employee health clinic. The primary distinction between a professional service and a purely commercial enterprise is that a profession is a calling which demands adherence to the public interest as the foremost obligation of the practitioner. ... A professional person is liable for an abuse of the trust reposed in him by the public, provisions of the compensation act notwithstanding. Id. at 125-126.