Reversing itself, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal held that a public utility’s obligation to maintain its equipment and facilities was the sort of activity that could be subcontracted to another firm and that when it had properly... Read More

An insurer’s cancellation of coverage related to a workers’ compensation insurance policy was effective in spite of the fact that, prior to the injury in dispute, the carrier’s agent had sent the general contractor a certification that... Read More

Building on an earlier decision in which the Ohio Supreme Court had determined that the Ohio contractor’s self-insurance plan [see Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 4123.35(O)] provided immunity not only to the self-insuring general contractor, but also... Read More

Construing Oklahoma law, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal district court’s dismissal of a negligence action filed against the sole stockholder of a worker’s employer, finding the district court failed to consider the stockholder's... Read More

I heard from Bob Richter, as well as John Ellis, on Thanksgiving Eve, and you have them to thank for today's post. As Bob succinctly offers: Cassandra, The Supreme Court affirmed. I am delighted. Happy Thanksgiving. The issue: For this to make... Read More

Where a worker settled his workers’ compensation claim and signed a settlement agreement that released his direct employer and a purported general contractor from liability for any claims arising out of the worker’s work-related accident,... Read More

In a split decision, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that the trial court erred when it sustained a plea in bar and dismissed a wrongful death action filed against a property owner by the estate of a general contractor’s employee who was killed... Read More

Noting that a federal court sitting in diversity must apply the choice-of-law rules of the state in which it sits—here that of Mississippi—a federal district court held that an injured employee of a subcontractor could not sue the general... Read More

I heard from Fred Freibott last evening with a recent case involving Section 2311 contractor liability. Since friends don't let friends remain ignorant of the law as to Section 2311, I thought I owed y'all a post. The case is Gregory Otter v.... Read More

The Supreme Court of Mississippi held that a general contractor waived its right to utilize the exclusive remedy defense where it was sued by the survivors of a worker employed by a subcontractor and for 26 months, it actively participated in litigating... Read More

A general contractor that implemented a contractor controlled insurance program (CCIP) to centralize the purchasing of workers’ compensation insurance for a major project has “paid compensation benefits” to the employees of its subcontractors... Read More

Where a subcontractor’s worker sustained serious injuries when he attempted to use a grinder—owned by the project’s contactor and which did not have a required safety guard—and where there was a conflict in the evidence as to whether... Read More

Where the general contractor on a construction project had been sued in tort by the estate of a subcontractor’s employee and, in turn, the general contractor claimed it was entitled to contractual indemnification from the deceased employee’s... Read More

CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES Vol. 77 No. 2 February 2012 A Report of En Banc and Significant Panel Decisions of the WCAB and Selected Court Opinions of Related Interest, With a Digest of WCAB Decisions Denied Judicial Review CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE... Read More

Reversing a judgment rendered in favor of plaintiffs after an eight-day trial in which the jury in relevant part found a general contractor liable to its statutory employee for an “intentional act,” a Louisiana appellate court ruled that the... Read More