A boilermaker suffered an accident while working at a power company’s plant. He worked for a maintenance company. The maintenance company had a contract with a labor broker, and the labor broker had a contract with the power company.
The boilermaker sued the maintenance company for workers’ compensation benefits, but sued the labor broker, the power company, and another maintenance company for wantonness and negligence in maintaining the air tugger equipment involved in his accident. The labor broker was dismissed from the suit, and the power company moved for summary judgment. In its motion, the power company maintained that it was a special employer under the Alabama Workers’ Compensation Act and therefore could not be sued by the boilermaker under tort law, the boilermaker’s exclusive remedy being the benefits due him under the Workers’ Compensation Act. A special employer is an individual or business that can be considered the primary or co-employer of the injured employee.
The Mobile County Circuit Court granted the motion for summary judgment in favor of the power company. The boilermaker appealed to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. The court of appeals reversed the circuit court’s ruling because it found that a genuine issue of material fact existed about whether the power company was a special employer. In explaining its ruling, the court of appeals pointed out that a special employer becomes liable for workers’ compensation—and thus immune for liability for tort actions brought by the injured employee—only if all of the following are true:
See Lewis v. Alabama Power Company, decided on October 14, 2011.
Items on this web page are general in nature. They cannot—and should not—replace consultation with a competent legal professional. Nothing on this web page should be considered rendering legal advice.
Return to top.
Return to Legal Developments.
Wokers’ Compensation Attorneys
.
