Amazon workers had ‘no duty’ to help lone contractor

BATON ROUGE, La. — A federal court in Louisiana granted summary judgment to Amazon on a contract maintenance worker’s negligence, vicarious liability and premises liability lawsuit he filed after he “suddenly lost consciousness and began convulsing on the floor” while working alone in a warehouse. His fall activated a security alarm, but Amazon personnel were absent from their assigned positions, resulting in a half-hour delay in emergency aid, “during which time he repeatedly struck his head and back.” The Amazon employees had “no duty” to come to his aid and the court found no law governing a warehouse owner’s liability for “non-work related medal emergencies experienced by independent contractors on its premises.”