Legal Question in Workers Comp in California
Who is responsible when an independ. contractor's employee is injured
I hired a gardner to trim my palm trees. Trimming of the palms is needed once a year, and this particular gardner has done the cutting in the past. I verbally contract with one man to do the work (and pay this man by check made payable to him - not a company or to anyone else). He always brings two to three others with him to assist with the cuting and clean-up. In 2001, one of his men fell from the palm tree due to a faulty harness belt - I have photos of a worn leather belt with a machette cut in the link chain that is used to secure the wearer to the tree. At the time of the accident, the gardner told me that he has insurance and gave me false information - suddenly he only speaks broken English. The injured party only speaks Spanish. I do not speak Spanish. At the time of the accident, I called my homeowners insurance, and they assured me that the gardner is responsible for his help. I am now receiving a Workers' Compensation Appeals Board request for lien for ''medical records'' and penalty and interest. How can I be responsible when I never hired the individual employee only the gardner (ind. contractor?)?
1 Answer from Attorneys
You may be responsible
Sadly the legislature has written laws that have been intrepreted by the courts to mean that a home owner is responsible for an injured worker if that worker was working on the home. Case law is such that you are responsible, even if the employee was working for someone else who told you that they had coverage. It happens more than people realize and can be a significant challenge for a home owner.
Call the insurance company who wrote your homeowner's policy and see if they have a provision for a workers compensation defense attorney.
Find out who is asking for the penalties, what the lien relates too, and seek to obtain any medical reports relating thereto.
Lastly, try and compile as much information as possible from the contractor, his license number, home address, and hopefully a list of his assets. You do not want to get behind on this claim because people and assets will disappear.
You are going to need a defense attorney who specializes in California workers compensation.
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