A worker injured at a construction site sued his employer. The company said it couldn’t be sued because workers’ comp is the exclusive remedy for injured workers.
But the California Court of Appeal disagreed with the company’s argument because the worker was an independent contractor.
Jeffrey Tverberg was hired by a subcontractor to install a canopy at a gas station. He fell into a hole at the construction site and was injured.
He sued the general contractor and its subcontractor.
The contractor argued that California case law holds that the hirer of a contractor owes no duty of care to the contractor’s injured worker because his remedy is workers’ comp.
But the court said that case law wasn’t applicable because the plaintiff was an independent contractor, not an employee.
Now the case will either go to trial, or the company will try to reach a settlement. Both options could be quite expensive.
Cite: Tverberg v. Fillner