Missouri Court
of Appeals, Western District - WD80778
Code(s): C040 - Statutory Employee
Factual
Background:
KCP&L
contracted with a company called Projectile, for Projectile to clean condenser
tubes that KCP&L used to produce electrical energy. The tubes were cleaned
1-4 times per year. The agreement between the parties stated that Projectile
"agrees and represents that it is an independent contractor and its
personnel are not employees or agents of KCP&L for federal tax purposes or
any other purpose whatsoever, and are not entitled to any KCP&L employee
benefits." The Agreement stated that Projectile was solely responsible for
payment of worker's compensation insurance and claims. While Barger was
cleaning the tubes, the grating on a catwalk gave out from under him and he
grabbed the grate in front of him to keep from falling, causing injury to his
right wrist. He files a WC claim against Projectile; files a civil suit against
P&L, claiming negligence P&L moved for summary judgment on the basis
that Barger was a statutory employee of P&L, and thus his exclusive remedy
was the MO WC system.
Circuit Court Decision
(Civil Case):
Summary Judgment was granted in favor of the defendants, KCP&L.
Analysis/Holding:
Barger
argued on appeal that he was not a statutory employee because the work that he
performed was not in the usual course of P&L’s business. The Court found
that there was genuine issues of material fact in that Barger argued that the
condenser’s only need to be cleaned on an as-needed basis, such that if not for
Projectile, P&L would not need to hire permanent employees to perform the
cleaning.
The Takeaway:
In this case, it
was in the employer’s best interest to argue that the injured employee was a
statutory employee, so that the employee’s exclusive remedy would thus be the
MO WC system.