Johnson v. Detroit Edison, Mich. Ct. of Appeals (2010)
This action was brought in Circuit Court by a plaintiff alleging an intentional tort by defendant employer. The plaintiff was tasked with cleaning coal ash from the bottom of a boiler at a power plant. The boiler that the plaintiff was cleaning had five “gates” that needed to be opened and cleaned out, two of which had been broken for approximately one year. As a result of the broken gates, ash built up and eventually led to an explosion that injured the plaintiff. The broken gates and associated dangers were discussed many times with the management of the plant yet nothing was done to remedy the situation. The Court of Appeals denied the defendant’s Motion for Summary Disposition that was predicated on the exclusive remedy provision of the WDCA.

Key Point: If the employer 1) subjects an employee to a continuously operative dangerous condition that it knows will cause injury, 2) the employer knows that employees are not taking adequate precaution to protect themselves against the danger and 3) the employer does not address the dangerous situation a claim is proper in Circuit Court for an intentional tort.