Dunkin’ Cashier in Georgia, Stabbed by Rapper, Can’t Claim More Than Workers’ Comp
A Dunkin’ Donuts cashier who was stabbed by an Atlanta-area rapper has only the workers’ compensation remedy, even if the incident seems far outside the scope of work duites, the Georgia Court of Appeals has decided.
“In this case, the trial court erroneously concluded that (victim Mekia) Bryant’s injuries did not arise out of her employment because ‘there is a significant difference between the resolution of basic customer service dispute[s] and being subjected to criminal assault by a disgruntled customer,'” the appellate judges wrote in the Dec. 3 opinion. “That distinction, however, is one of degree, not kind, and we have previously held that injuries of the kind at issue in the present matter fall within the exclusive remedy provision of the Act.”
It all began almost exactly five years ago, when the rapper Marquavis Goolsby, also known as DaeDae, ordered at the drive-through at Dunkin’, a store owned by Peachstate Concessions. Bryant informed the rapper, whom she had never met, that the restaurant was out of the food items – certain flavors of doughnuts that he had requested, the court opinion explained.
About 10 minutes later, Goolsby returned to the restaurant and demanded to speak with a manager. Bryant told him the manager was not available. Words were exchanged and the rapper reportedly stabbed the cashier in the arm. The violence was captured on video and the 28-year-old, best known for his 2016 tune, “Wat U Mean (Aye, Aye, Aye),” was later arrested. He had previously faced stolen gun and drug charges, according to news reports.
Bryant two years later filed suit against Peachtree Concessions, claiming negligence, a failure of premises liability, and emotional distress. The restaurant company asked the trial court to dismiss the case, arguing that the workplace incident was covered only by the exclusive remedy of the workers’ compensation system.
The trial court judge denied summary judgment on the premises liability claims, noting that Bryant’s injuries did not necessarily arise out of her employment. “…The risks of such injury were not reasonably incident to her employment,” the trial court said.
Peachtree appealed and the Georgia Court of Appeals agreed with the food company/employer.
“Goolsby’s act of stabbing Bryant arose out of his displeasure with her job performance,” Judge Amanda Mercier wrote for the court. “There is no evidence that the attack was personal; indeed, the two had never met and did not otherwise know each other.”
The appeals court ordered the trial court to enter summary judgment in favor of the restaurant company.
In other workplace violence incidents, courts in Georgia and other states have often found that workers’ comp insurance is not considered the exclusive remedy only when the dispute was personal or non-work related. The appeals court in the Bryant case noted a 2002 court decision from DeKalb County, about a repair shop worker who was killed during a disagreement over construction at the shop.
In that case, like the Bryant-Goolsby incident, the court found that the dispute was not personal in nature and was, in fact, covered by the workers’ comp remedy.
As of 2024, Georgia workers’ compensation law provided two-thirds of the worker’s average weekly wage, up to $800 a week, for no more than 400 weeks, unless the injury is catastrophic. That maximum is less that the maximum allowed in most other Southeastern states, according to the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute.
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