The Mississippi Supreme Court recently issued a worker’s compensation decision that addresses a somewhat unusual but not completely unheard of employment scenario – the situation in which a premises owner acts as its contractor. The case involves a man who got severely burned while he was working at the Chevron refinery in Pascagoula. At the time of the accident, Quindon Thomas worked for a company called American Plant Services (APS), with which Chevron had contracted to perform maintenance services at its refinery. In 2012, Thomas was at the Chevron refinery, doing maintenance work, when a Chevron employee that was working in close proximity to Thomas opened a valve which released hot water, steam, and coke onto Thomas, severely burning most of his body.
After he was injured, Thomas collected worker’s compensation from Chevron as was provided for by a 2010 contract between Chevron and APS that established that Chevron would provide workers’ compensation insurance for all APS employees who were working at the Chevron refinery through Chevron’s Owner-Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP).
After Thomas had exhausted the worker’s compensation insurance policy limits, he and his wife tried to sue Chevron over dangerous conditions at the refinery. The circuit court ruled against Thomas, and he appealed the decision to the Mississippi Supreme Court, which recently issued decision NO. 2016-CA-00101-SCT in his favor. That decision allows Thomas and his wife to bring a suit against Chevron for damages that he sustained as the result of dangerous conditions at the refinery. Specifically, Thomas and his wife plan to sue Chevron and the employee who opened the valve for negligence and premises liability.
Chevron had sought immunity from that suit, claiming that it was Thomas’s statutory employer, and, as such that it was entitled to immunity from the lawsuit under the Mississippi Worker’s Compensation Act’s exclusive remedy provision. Specifically, Chevron claimed that Mississippi Code Section 71-3-91 granted it immunity from tort liability because it had acted as its own general contractor in providing worker’s compensation benefits to Thomas. Thomas asserted that premises owners are often employers who carry workers’ compensation insurance and who contract with other people who are not their employees to perform work on their premises. In fact, he references the worker’s compensation coverage contract between Chevron and APS which clearly labels APS as a contractor, thus negating Chevron’s assertion that he was their statutory employee. The Court’s ruling states that Chevron may not obtain immunity from tort liability by voluntarily purchasing worker’s compensation benefits for APS’s workers.
Barrett Law PLLC: Help for Families Affected by Mississippi Workplace Accidents
If you work as a contracted employee on another company’s premises, Mississippi Supreme Court’s decision in the Thomas case may apply to you under certain circumstances, depending upon the nature of the contracts between your employer and the owner of the premises. This case illustrates that not every worker’s compensation case is simple and straightforward, in fact, they rarely are. If you were injured on the job, it is best not to take any chances when pursuing a claim for compensation. A Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorney understands the nuances of worker’s compensation law, and they can take over the task of pursuing your claim for damages so that you can devote your time and energy to healing from your injury. To learn more, call the Mississippi Workplace Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC at 1 (800) 707-9577 to schedule a consultation.