The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a construction worker injured by a crane company employee may not have been subject to workers compensation exclusive remedy because of lingering questions over employment relationship.
Jason Beckner was injured while helping to construct a home in Zionsville, Indiana, in November 2019 while employed by Commercial Air Inc. His employer had rented a crane from Maxim Crane Works LP. Mr. Beckner says he was injured by the negligence of a crane operator.
A federal trial court judge had ruled that the case was governed by workers comp because the crane operator was jointly employed by Commercial Air and was therefore Mr. Beckner’s co-employee, barring tort litigation.
The 7th Circuit ruled that the trial judge had wrongly determined that workers comp was the only remedy through which Mr. Beckner could receive compensation for his injuries because there remained a factual dispute over whether Mr. Beckner and the crane operator were co-employees.
The appeals court wrote that the case, Jason Beckner v. Maxim Crane Works LP, must be remanded to the federal district court to further determine employee status.
