The California Court of Appeal recently issued an unpublished opinion in a case that posed the question of whether an injured worker had presented evidence sufficient to pursue a claim of vicarious negligence against the defendant, Amy’s Kitchen, Inc. Amy’s kitchen hired an independent contractor, who then hired the plaintiff. While installing industrial equipment at a manufacturing plant owned by Amy’s, the plaintiff suffered injuries when his finger was crushed.
While the plaintiff recovered worker’s compensation from the independent contractor that hired him, he sued Amy’s for negligence. The issue before the appellate court was whether the lower court had properly found no exception to the general rule that employees of independent contractors who are hurt in the workplace cannot sue the party that hired the contractor.