ZK Results – Attorney John W. Zotter Successfully Raises Statutory Employer Defense
In a lawsuit arising out of an industrial accident, the Plaintiff sought damages for the partial amputation of his left foot resulting from an accident wherein a counterweight pipe that was being hoisted by a crane broke and fell onto his foot. The Plaintiff’s medical bills and lost wages totaled approximately $400,000. At the time of the accident, the Plaintiff was employed as a welding assistant by a subcontractor of the Defendant but he had been working at the Defendant’s facility for an extended period of time. The Defendant raised as an affirmative defense the statutory employer doctrine. With the assistance of Zimmer Kunz attorney Emily Kinkead on Brief, a Motion for Summary Judgment was filed by John Zotter seeking dismissal of the lawsuit because the Defendant was the Plaintiff’s statutory employer under the Workers’ Compensation Act and therefore entitled to statutory employer immunity. The Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County granted the Motion for Summary Judgment.
