Court Finds FSRC Partly Liable in Employee’s Injury Claim

A negligence lawsuit brought by an employee of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC) has ended in a split decision, with the High Court holding the regulator partly responsible for one of two workplace accidents.

Sherry Ann Thomas, a staff member of more than a decade, argued that her job duties caused back injuries after two separate incidents at the FSRC.

Justice Nicola Byer agreed in part, finding the employer negligent over a 2020 filing room accident but rejecting her later claim of slipping near her desk.

The case centered on Thomas’s long-standing duties handling paper files, even after the regulator shifted most of its operations to electronic record-keeping in 2016. When she moved to the Insurance Department in 2019, heavy reliance on physical filing cabinets remained.

On February 13, 2020, Thomas injured her back while bending to open one of the cabinets. The court found the FSRC, whose Chief Regulatory Officer is Paule Ashe, had not taken reasonable measures to ensure staff safety.

In her written judgment, Justice Byer highlighted the employer’s failure to address the risks of continued cabinet use, remarking that no effort had been made “to alleviate or lessen” reliance on them.

More than a year later, Thomas claimed she aggravated her injury when she slipped on water close to her workstation.

The commission’s HR manager, Janice Thomas, disputed that the fall ever happened. A witness testified that while there were water spots on the floor that day, they were minimal and no warning signs were placed.

In dismissing the second claim, Justice Byer said the spots were “inconsequential” and that occasional slips were “a normal incident of life,” not something the employer was obligated to prevent.

Thomas now has 45 days to request an assessment of damages related to the successful portion of her lawsuit. The judge also ordered a cost-sharing arrangement: Thomas will recover some of her expenses but must pay half of the FSRC’s legal costs tied to the dismissed claim.