Gibson v. Drainage Products, Inc

In Gibson v. Drainage Products, Inc., 95 Ohio St.3d 171, 2002 Ohio 2008, 766 N.E.2d 982, the Ohio Supreme Court instructed us that cases involving workplace intentional torts must be judged on the totality of the circumstances surrounding each accident. Gibson at P 27. The focus is the employer's knowledge of the risk of injury. The employee must show that the employer possessed "actual knowledge" that injury to the employee was a substantial certainty. Sanek v. Duracote Corporation (1989), 43 Ohio St. 3d 169, 172, 539 N.E.2d 1114. This requires proof beyond that is required to establish negligence or recklessness, and mere knowledge or appreciation of a risk does not prove intent. An intentional tort action is limited to egregious cases where the employer had knowledge that an injury to an employee is substantially certain to occur. Id.