Strober Wins Summary Judgment in Potentially High Damages Case
April 12, 2018 |Eric Strober obtained summary judgment on a motor vehicle liability case premised on a worker’s compensation defense, saving the client $1 million of available coverage, which would have been exhausted given the severity of the injuries.
The case involved a two-car accident in which our client was driving a company van from a job site to the work base with the plaintiff/co-worker in the passenger seat and fell asleep at the wheel causing serious injuries to the plaintiff/co-worker. The motion argued that he was not entitled to recover from the driver or employer, who owned the van, based on the exclusive remedy of the Worker’s Compensation Law. Plaintiff argued that since he was not on the clock at the time of the accident and had already finished work for the day, that he was not within the scope of his employment at the time of the accident.
The Court agreed with defense arguments that the plaintiff was an outside employee, in the course of his employment, and the fact that he was not paid at the time was not determinative.
