Title: Pressley v. Wiltz
Citation: 565 So. 2d 26
Docket Number: N/A
State: Alabama
Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court
Date: March 30, 1990

565 So. 2d 26 (1990)
Donald PRESSLEY
v.
Richard WILTZ.
88-1363.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
March 30, 1990.
Rehearing Denied May 18, 1990.
*27 Jeffrey W. Bennitt of Kizer &amp; Bennitt, Birmingham, for appellant.
John W. Clark, Jr. and Judith E. Dolan of Clark &amp; Scott, Birmingham, for appellee.
ADAMS, Justice.
The appellant, Donald Pressley, appeals from a summary judgment in favor of Richard Wiltz, general manager of S.P. Richards Company, in an action filed pursuant to Ala.Code 1975, § 25-5-11. Pressley alleges that he suffered injuries in a work-related accident when he fell from a lifter that had no guard rails attached to it. He contends that he offered substantial evidence to show that Wiltz was guilty of "willful conduct" as defined by § 25-5-11(c)(1) and (2) and, therefore, that summary judgment was improper. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.
At the outset, we note that § 25-5-11 is part of the Workman's Compensation Act. This portion of the Act allows an employee "to pursue a civil action against a co-employee only if the injury sustained by the worker resulted from the `willful conduct' of the co-employee. Ala.Code 1975, §§ 25-5-11(b), -53; Reed v. Brunson, 527 So. 2d 102 (Ala.1988)." Turnbow v. Kustom Kreation Vans, 535 So. 2d 132, 134 (Ala.1988). Section 25-5-11(c)(1) and (2) read as follows:
"(c) As used herein, `willful conduct' means:
With regard to § 25-5-11(c)(1), we have stated:
Turnbow, supra, 535 So. 2d  at 134. (Emphasis added.) In the present case, there is absolutely no evidence that Wiltz "consciously pursued a course of conduct with a purpose, design, or intent to injure someone." There is evidence that he knew *28 there were no guard rails on the lifter; however, he used the lifter himself without the rails. While there is evidence that Wiltz may have appreciated the risk involved in not having guard rails on the lifter, this alone does not mandate that the issue be submitted to a jury. Id.
We must now consider whether the trial judge erred in entering summary judgment as to Pressley's claim under § 25-5-11(c)(2), which, again, defines "willful conduct" as "[t]he willful and intentional removal from a machine of a safety guard or safety device provided by the manufacturer of the machine with knowledge that injury or death would likely or probably result from such removal...."
In Bailey v. Hogg, 547 So. 2d 498 (Ala. 1989), we noted as follows:
Id. at 499-500. In the case sub judice, Wiltz contends that no safety guards were on the lifter when he came to work for S.P. Richards. This fact alone, under Bailey, supra, would not shield Wiltz from liability. Pressley contends that on a day prior to the accident, when one of the managers from Atlanta was visiting the warehouse, the management ordered the guard rails put on the lifter for that one day, and that on the day following the manager's visit the rails were removed.[1] Although Wiltz argues that the rails provided by the manufacturer did not meet OSHA standards for full protection and that, subsequent to Pressley's injuries, new rails were ordered that conformed to those standards, this would not necessarily mean that the old guard rails would not have prevented Pressley's fall. Pressley, in his complaint, has alleged that the lack of guard rails was the proximate cause of his injuries, and we are of the opinion that the trial judge erred in entering summary judgment.
For the foregoing reason, the judgment is affirmed with regard to § 25-5-11(c)(1), but is reversed and the cause is remanded with regard to § 25-5-11(c)(2).
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART; AND REMANDED.
HORNSBY, C.J., and MADDOX, JONES, ALMON, SHORES and KENNEDY, JJ., concur.
HOUSTON, J., concurs in the result.
HOUSTON, Justice (concurring in the result).
I concur in the result. See my dissent in Bailey v. Hogg, 547 So. 2d 498, 500-01 (Ala. 1989).
[1]  Pressley admits that Wiltz did not order the rails removed; however, he contends that Wiltz was present when the order was issued and alleges that Wiltz was a party to the discussion regarding the removal.