Often, cases come up in the world of Workers’ compensation that cause Denver disability lawyers and Denver disability attorneys to connect employees to employers through a chain that leads to workers’ compensation insurance. While all companies with employees are required to have workers’ compensation insurance, the exact specifications of the laws are often particular and riddled with loopholes that can keep employees from the benefits they deserve.
Frances Atiapo, for example, was a truck driver for a company called Goree Logistics, Inc. Goree worked with Owen Thomas to move products for another company. Frances Atapio got into a car accident while transporting goods for Owen Thomas and was injured on the job in a motor vehicle accident while driving through Colorado. Since Frances was on the job, technically this was a workers’ compensation case, but Goree didn’t have workers’ compensation insurance. They also denied Atiapo’s claim because they said he was an independent contractor and the company didn’t need workers’ compensation insurance because they only had three employees.
The rules for independent contractors and workmen’s compensation can be very simple. In most cases, independent contractors go through their own insurance when they are injured on the job, since the contractor is not technically an employee of the company that pays them. Taxi drivers are often cited as an example of an independent contractor because, while the parent company does take a percentage of the driver’s profits, the driver has the option to turn down a fare and in general has much more freedom in his or her job than the average employee who works in, say, a factory farm.
As Denver disability lawyers know, when an individual is injured on the job is can come to the point where any kind of compensation comes through litigation, particularly when questions of employer/employee connections arise. The Commission found Owen Thomas liable and made the connection between Atiapo and Thomas, ordering Owen Thomas to pay Atiapo workers’ compensation benefits. The Commission’s findings went to a suit where it was found that Owen Thomas, while technically a brokerage firm, extended its role as it controlled aspects of Atiapo’s job like the temperature Atiapo had to maintain in the truck, as well as how often he had to report to Owen Thomas. These sorts of details often lead to a de facto employer/employee relationship and, although Atiapo was never technically an employee of Owen Thomas’s, he was closely supervised by them. So closely, in fact, that although his technical position was that of an independent contractor, he qualified for workers’ compensation insurance for his injuries.
Goree was also fined for lack of workers’ compensation insurance because a statute requires all motor carriers to carry workers’ compensation insurance regardless of how many employees the company technically has. This is a prime example of how attorneys can simplify cases for those injured on the job. Companies must always look out for their best interests so it is vital for workers to have someone in their corners, as well.
Workers’ Compensation can be difficult, confusing, and very complex. Kaplan Morrell has helped thousands of injured workers since 1997 get the benefits they deserve. Contact us here or call us at 303-780-7329 for your free consultation.
Source: http://www.workerscompensation.com/compnewsnetwork/workers-comp-blogwire/21206-freight-broker-liable-as-statutory-employee-and-uninsured-motor-carrier-penalized-in-trucking-case.html