Wright v. Wilson Memorial Hospital, Inc.

• Decision Date: 07 July 1976
• Docket Number: No. 7610SC84,7610SC84
• Citation: 30 N.C.App. 91,226 S.E.2d 225
• Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals
• Parties: Debra K. WRIGHT v. WILSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, INC.

Page 225

226 S.E.2d 225

30 N.C.App. 91

Debra K. WRIGHT v. WILSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL, INC.

No. 7610SC84.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

July 7, 1976.

Certiorari Denied by Supreme Court Sept. 1, 1976.

Brenton D. Adams, Raleigh, for plaintiff-appellant.

Smith, Anderson, Blount & Mitchell by James D. Blount, Jr., and James G. Billings, Raleigh, for defendant-appellee.

CLARK, Judge.

Plaintiff, contending that the trial court erred in granting defendant's motion for summary judgment, maintains that the evidence does not indicate that plaintiff is an 'employee' under the Workmen's Compensation Act as a matter of law.

Under G.S. 97--2(2), an 'employee' for purposes of Workmen's Compensation includes '. . . every person engaged in an employment under any . . . Apprenticeship, express or implied, oral or written. . ..' (Emphasis supplied.)

A critical reading of this record indicates as a matter of law that the participants in this laboratory assistantship program, including this plaintiff, are acting as 'apprentices' undergoing on-the-job training and hence should be considered employees subject to the provisions of Workmen's Compensation. Thus, plaintiff's rights and remedies, if any, lie solely within the provisions of the Act, and she has no civil remedy available to her. G.S. 97--10.1.

In an analogous case, the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court held in Galligan v. St. Vincent's Hospital of City of N.Y., 28 App.Div.2d 592, 279 N.Y.S.2d 886 (1967), that a student nurse, injured on the job in defendant's hospital, was an apprentice for purposes of New York's Workmen's Compensation Act. In Galligan, the plaintiff nurse basically received room and board, and laundry privileges; the New York Court held that this plaintiff had been '. . . rendering a service to the hospital for its pecuniary gain at the time of the accident, under circumstances that made her status similar to that of an apprentice. An apprentice renders services to a master in a trade for the purpose of learning the trade, receiving no remuneration outside of his board and lodging, although the master receives payment for the services rendered by the apprentice.' 279 N.Y.S.2d, at 889.

The job status of apprentice medical-related personnel is highly problematic and usually must be determined not only on a case-by-case basis but also with special regard to relevant statutory provisions. Though possibly and seemingly incongruous, a lab technician trainee could be considered a student for some purposes and an employee for...