Whitaker v. Town of Scotland Neck

Carlton Whitaker worked as a garbage collector for the Town of Scotland Neck (defendant). While emptying a dumpster into a truck one day, the latching mechanism securing the dumpster to the truck failed. The dumpster swung toward Whitaker and crushed him against the truck. Whitaker was conscious and able to speak after the accident. He was treated at the hospital but died 28 days later due to the crush injury. An internal investigation by Scotland Neck’s safety director, C. T. Hasty (defendant), revealed that the latching mechanism on the truck had been broken for at least two months and the dumpster was bent. These issues had been reported to a supervisor. The investigation resulted in a finding that the broken latching mechanism and bent dumpster directly caused the accident. The North Carolina Department of Labor’s Division of Occupational Health and Safety also determined that the broken and bent equipment was the proximate cause of Whitaker’s injuries. It also issued five serious safety violations to Scotland Neck. The coadministrators of Whitaker’s estate (coadministrators) (plaintiffs) brought a civil action against the town, Hasty, and Scotland Neck’s public-works superintendent, Douglas Braddy (defendant) for gross negligence. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the town and its employees, finding that the coadministrators’ claim was barred by the exclusivity provision of the state workers’-compensation statute. The coadministrators appealed to the intermediary appellate court, which reversed the trial court judgment, finding that the actions of the town, Hasty, and Braddy were substantially certain to cause Whitaker’s death. The town, Hasty, and Braddy appealed to the North Carolina Supreme Court.