Workers' Compensation - Fall from Height
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Case Details
An independent subcontractor hired as a painter for Lee’s Metal Roof Coatings & Painting in 2011 is entitled to workers’ compensation for injuries received in a fall. The worker was injured on May 6, 2011, when he fell from a roof, striking his head and injuring his right knee and left ankle. The accident reportedly occurred several days after the contracting company hired the worker. In October of the same year, the injured party filed a workers’ compensation claim despite that he was allegedly hired as an independent contractor. The owner of the company claimed that no employment relationship existed between the two parties when the incident occurred as an independent agreement was never signed. However, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania disagreed, ruling in the injured party’s favor. The story indicates that the injured party “might have” signed the agreement after his release from the hospital, but the court says it does not matter. Since the contract was not signed prior to the accident, it places the injured worker in the realm of employee rather than independent contractor.
Additional Notes
Independent subcontractor injured in a fall from a roof in May 2011. Commonwealth Court ruled he was an employee entitled to workers' compensation because the contract was not signed prior to the accident.