Lawsuit over training shooting death barred by comp law

Negligence claims filed by the family of a man who was shot and killed during a firearm training exercise are barred by the Mississippi Workers Compensation Act, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

In Estate of Gorman v. State of Mississippi, the Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed a circuit court’s ruling granting summary judgment to the man’s employer.

John Ballard Gorman worked for the Mississippi Gaming Commission. During a training exercise, he was fatally shot by his co-worker and firearms training instructor, Robert Sharp, due to a lapse in safety protocols, according to court documents.

A review board found that the incident was the result of an accidental discharge of an agency weapon and that a “significant contributing factor” was a failure by the firearms instructor to follow prescribed policies, procedures, lesson plans and safety protocols. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation classified the death as due to the “extremely negligent discharge of firearm” by Mr. Sharp.

Mr. Gorman’s family received workers compensation payments, but the family also brought an action for negligence against the gaming commission. The commission moved for summary judgment, arguing that the exclusivity provision of the state workers compensation law barred further recovery. A circuit court granted summary judgment for the commission and the Gorman family appealed.

The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s decision, holding that the record lacked evidence that Mr. Sharp actually intended to injure Mr. Gorman in the training exercise.

Although Mr. Gorman’s family argued that Mr. Sharp’s actions “ignoring every safety check” on the day of the incident was an “intentional” act, the court noted that Mr. Sharp testified that he did not know his firearm was loaded and that there was no evidence to allow a factfinder to conclude that Mr. Sharp “possessed actual intent to injure” Mr. Gorman.