Maria Sturgess v. Oa Logistics Services, Inc., 336 Ga. App. 134

OA Logistics contracted Staffchex to supply temporary workers for OA’s warehouse; Staffchex was to run criminal background checks before employment.
Christopher Lema applied under an alias, had an incomplete application, and began working before his background check returned; the alias check showed no criminal history though Lema had a felony record.
On shift, forklift driver Nickifor Zephyrine ran out of fuel and went to an office area to request refueling; he waited outside with his back turned.
Lema entered the office, attempted to kiss a female coworker, was rebuffed, produced a handgun, shot Zephyrine in the back of the head, then sexually assaulted the female employee; Zephyrine had not interacted with Lema prior and was unaware of the assault when shot.
Sturgess (mother) sued OA, Staffchex, Lema, and others alleging negligent hiring; the trial court granted summary judgment for OA and Staffchex on the ground that the Georgia Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) provided the exclusive remedy.
The Court of Appeals reviewed de novo whether Zephyrine’s death “arose out of and in the course of” employment such that the WCA barred tort claims.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Zephyrine’s death "arose out of" his employment under the WCA	Sturgess: death resulted from workplace conditions and negligent hiring, so it arose out of employment	OA/Staffchex: death occurred on-premises during work, so it arose out of employment and is barred by WCA	Reversed: death did not arise out of employment; WCA exclusive remedy does not bar tort claims
Applicability of positional-risk doctrine	Sturgess: positional-risk insufficient because attack was not related to job duties	Staffchex: positional-risk applies because employment put Zephyrine in the locale where danger struck	Rejected: positional-risk inapplicable—danger was not peculiar to the employment or workplace
Whether the assault was for reasons personal to the employee (thus outside WCA)	Sturgess: attack was random and not directed at Zephyrine personally	Defendants: attack occurred at workplace and during work, so it falls within WCA coverage	Court: assault not connected to any personal reason tied to employment; therefore not within WCA exclusive remedy
Whether the event occurred "in the course of" employment	Sturgess: conceded it occurred on duty but argued "arising out of" fails	Defendants: argued both "in the course of" and "arising out of" satisfied	Court: event occurred in the course of employment, but that alone is insufficient without causal connection to employment

Helton v. Interstate Brands Corp., 155 Ga. App. 607 (explaining causal link where early hours and location tied assault to employment)
Kennedy v. Pineland State Bank, 211 Ga. App. 375 (assault while conducting work in bank vault not fairly traceable to employment)
Burns Int’l Sec. Svcs. Corp. v. Johnson, 284 Ga. App. 289 (framework for determining whether third-party wilful acts arise out of employment)
Chaparral Boats, Inc. v. Heath, 269 Ga. App. 339 (describing positional-risk doctrine and limits where danger not peculiar to work)
Dawson v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 324 Ga. App. 604 (collecting cases on causal connection between workplace conditions and third-party assaults)
DeKalb Collision Ctr., Inc. v. Foster, 254 Ga. App. 477 (on-the-job fight held connected to employment and barred by WCA)
Nat. Fire Ins. Co. v. Edwards, 152 Ga. App. 566 (positional-risk origins in acts of God context)