Pierre v. Micro-JA/X, LLC, [Ms. A25A1020, Sept. 17, 2025] __ Ga. App. __ (2025). The court (Barnes, P.J.; Brown, C.J., and Watkins, J., concurring) reversed summary judgment dismissing wrongful death and tort claims, holding that a workers’ compensation settlement did not preclude the plaintiff’s tort remedies.
Plaintiff, a dependent of a decedent fatally shot by a security guard while seeking employment, had previously settled a workers’ compensation claim under OCGA § 34-9-15(b). Although the trial court held the settlement barred tort claims under the exclusivity provision in OCGA § 34-9-11(a), the court found that the parties expressly preserved additional rights in a contemporaneous written release. That release specified the plaintiff waived only her workers’ compensation claim and expressly retained her right to pursue wrongful death and tort claims. Because the parties “expressly agreed in writing to specific additional rights and remedies,” the exclusivity bar did not apply. See OCGA § 34-9-11(a); Ms. ** 7–9.