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Manley Successfully Defends Workers' Compensation Based on Independent Contractor Status

03.18.10

In February 2010, Wade Manley, Esq. successfully defended a Pennsylvania-based trucking company against claims brought by a driver for workers' compensation benefits. The Workers' Compensation Judge agreed with the position taken by Manley and his trucking company client that the injured driver was not eligible for the workers' compensation benefits he was demanding , based on the fact the injured driver was an independent contractor, and not an employee of the trucking company.

A September 11, 2007, single truck accident set off a complex set of facts that eventually involved two separate trucking operations and the driver who brought the workers' compensation claim.

The accident occurred when the driver lost control of the tractor-trailer he was operating in Tennessee. The truck involved in the accident bore the insignia of Manley's trucking company client - a point used by the driver to allege he was the trucking company's employee. Additionally, the driver argued that he did not have have a contract with the trucking company and therefore was an employee of Manley's client.

Despite the accuracy of both contentions, through litigation it was discovered - and proven - that the driver had entered into a valid independent contractor agreement with a second trucking entity who owned the truck involved in the accident. It was established that prior to the accident Manley's trucking company client had previously entered into a valid Lease Agreement with the second trucking entity.

The Judge agreed with Manley's contention that the precedential case law required a determination that the Independent Contract and Lease Agreement insulated Manley's trucking company client from responsibility for paying wage loss benefits and medical bills. At the time of the successful decision, the wage loss benefits and medical bills demanded were nearly $140,000.00 and would have continued to increase over time.