Under Washington State laws, what is the tort of negligent supervision? Here’s my point of view.
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NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION IN WASHINGTON STATE
“Negligent supervision creates a limited duty to control an employee for the protection of a third person, even when the employee is acting outside the scope of employment.” S.H.C. v. Lu, 113 Wn. App. 511, 517, 54 P.3d 174 (Div. 1 2002) (citing Rodriguez v. Perez, 99 Wn. App. 439, 451, 994 P.2d 874, review denied, 141 Wash.2d 1020, 10 P.3d 1073 (2000) (citing Niece v. Elmview Group Home, 131 Wn.2d 39, 48, 929 P.2d 420 (1997))) (internal quotation marks omitted) (hyperlink added).
“Employer liability for negligent hiring, retention, and supervision arises from this duty.” Id. (emphasis and hyperlinks added). “If an employee conducts negligent acts outside the scope of employment, the employer may be liable for negligent supervision.” Id. (citing Rodriguez, 99 Wn. App. at 451, 994 P.2d 874) (hyperlink added)).
However: “An employer is not liable for negligent supervision of an employee unless the employer knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, that the employee presented a risk of danger to others.” Id. (citing Niece, 131 Wn.2d at 48-49, 929 P.2d 420) (hyperlink added).
THE PRIMA FACIE CASE
To establish a prima facie case of negligent supervision, a plaintiff must show:
(1) an employee acted outside the scope of his or her employment;
(2) the employee presented a risk of harm to other employees;
(3) the employer knew, or should have known of the risk in the exercise of reasonable case that the employee posed a risk to others; and
(4) the employer’s failure to supervise was the proximate cause of injuries to other employees.
Briggs v. Nova Services, 135 Wn. App. 955, 966-67, 147 P.3d 616 (2006) (internal citations omitted) (paragraph formatting added).
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