Case File
After receiving workers’ compensation benefits (even if they weren’t as much as she wanted) for injuries sustained in a workplace fall, a law professor was barred from pursuing a negligence action against her university employer.
Case
Abdelhady v. George Washington University, No. 25-7034 (D.C. Cir. 07/21/26, unpublished)
What Happened?
While attending a luncheon at her law school during a work function, a professor stumbled down a stairwell after her shoe caught on an uneven, sticky stair surface.
After receiving payment through the District of Columbia workers’ compensation system, the professor brought a negligence action against the university. The trial court granted summary judgment to the university, and the professor appealed.
Rule of Law
Under D.C. law, the liability of an employer under the Workers’ Compensation Act “shall be exclusive and in place of all liability of such employer to the employee” on account of a workplace injury. As a Grand Bargain result, the worker is barred from bringing a common law tort action against an employer for injuries that have been or could be compensated under the act.
What the Court Said
The court found that there was “no question” that the professor’s injuries “not only could have been, but in fact were, compensated under the” Workers’ Compensation Act. In fact, the court pointed out that the professor acknowledged that university “finally got around to making partial payment.”
“[The professor] accordingly is barred by law from bringing her negligence claim against the university,” the court wrote. “If she wanted to contest the amount or the timeliness of her workers’ compensation payments, she had to do that through the agency appeal process.”
Verdict: The court affirmed the trial court’s ruling in the University’s favor.
Takeaway
As a “quid pro quo” for automatic liability stemming from a workers’ compensation injury, D.C.’s Workers’ Compensation Act provides the employee’s exclusive remedy—an administrative remedy—against the employer for injuries within its reach.
