Is employer at fault in machete attack?

UPPER SANDUSKY — A retail company is seeking to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the husband of a woman killed on the job in a machete attack. On Jan. 1, 2023, Keris Riebel, 22, was working at an Upper Sandusky Dollar Tree when she was attacked and killed by a man wielding a machete. The man, Bethel M. Bekele, 27, of Upper Sandusky, was charged with six felonies including murder, aggravated murder, felonious assault and aggravated burglary. It's still unclear if he will stand trial due to a pending second competency evaluation. The lawsuit was filed by Keris Riebel's surviving husband, Jordan, earlier this year in the Wyandot County Common Pleas Court and names Bekele and also Dollar Tree as the woman's employer and Lowe's Home Improvement for selling the weapon used in the attack. Riebel is asking for $175,000 in damages from the defendants in the lawsuit. The family has also received over $80,000 from an online fundraiser and continues to raise funds for a memorial to be placed in Nevada, Ohio. "(Riebel) alleges that Dollar Tree intentionally (removed) a barrier which protected (Keris) from access by the public, such as the assailant," the lawsuit contends. "By such conduct, Dollar Tree intended to injure (Keris)." But, the company filed a motion to dismiss themselves as a defendant and contends the Riebel family lost the right to obtain civil damages for an employer's negligence due to them filing a worker's compensation claim. "An employee injured in the workplace is ordinarily compensated for that injury through the state workers' compensation system," court documents state. "Plaintiff filed a workers' compensation claim and, among other things, will receive weekly death benefits for life." Aside from immunity to civil lawsuits, the company also contends Riebel failed to state a claim that relief can be granted.