Injured security guard defeats Schering Plough bar on suing its customers - NJ Appellate Division

Injured security guard at Schering Plough defeats bar on suing customers - NJ Appellate Division

Judge Ellen Koblitz, writing for a panel of the Appellate Division of new Jersey's Superior Court, declared Schering Plough may not use as a defense the disclaimer required by its security contractor that a   worker waive the "right to sue any of Allied
Barton's customers "to which [he] may be assigned, arising from
or related to injuries which are covered under the Workers'
Compensation statutes."

The disclaimer provided:

As a result, and in consideration of Allied
Security offering me employment, I hereby
waive and forever release any and all rights
I may have to:
- make a claim, or
- commence a lawsuit, or
- recover damages or losses
from or against any customer (and the
employees of any customer) of Allied
Security to which I may be assigned, arising
from or related to injuries which are
covered under the Workers' Compensation
statutes. 

The court struck the waiver on policy grounds. Not only did the worker not appreciate the import of what he was signing, nor even know the identity of Allied Barton's customers, the waiver undercut the Workers Compensation Act which preserves the right to sue third parties (here Schering) or an employer which willfully or fraudulently cause harm to a covered employee.