Legal Question in Workers Comp in California
I live in California. I have a co-employee that was injured on the job. As it turns out, our employer doesn't have worker's compensation insurance. It's not my fault the employer doesn't have w/c insurance, and none of us knew there was no w/c insurance.
My co-employee is suing the employer for "general negligence" since there was no w/c insurance. My co-employee is also suing me for "general negligence".
It was my understanding one employee can't sue another for work injuries. Can my co-employee sue me, or is he barred from suing me even though our employer didn't have w/c insurance?
Who will defend me? Our employer doesn't have a lot of money, so I'm pretty much out of luck if I have to rely on him to defend me.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Your situation is unique. I am not sure if he can sue you or not, and I doubt there are any cases directly on that point. It would require research into cases involving suits against uninsured employers to see if those cases say anything relevant. You would want to cross-complain against your employer for contribution and reimbursement, indemnifaction. Did you really do anything negligent? If not, maybe you can convince the plaintiff's attorney to drop you from the suit as he will need you as a witness. i doubt they will provide any coverage, but check with your homeowners/renter's and automobile insurance companies to see if they will help.
You are going to need an attorney to do the research, argue with the plaintiff's attorney, file the cross-complaint, etc. If you want, I will speak with you for no charge for about 10-15 minutes, but thereafter it would be $150 per hour [I am semi-retired and work out of my house so can charge less than almost any attorney, especially one with 30+ years of experience, including Workers' Comp. and tort law]. 510-441-2684
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Even if he is not supposed to sue you, you will need to retain an attorney to get you out of the case. Even though he is supposed to pay for your legal defense (based on the general negligence claim), it sounds as though the employer will not. You will need to cross-complain against the employer as a result. If you would like to discuss this further or if you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact me by phone or email.
Regards,
Bryan
Becker Attorneys
1205 Prospect Street
La Jolla, CA 92037
877.201.8728
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