Man hired by subcontractor sues general for injuries

A general contractor hired a subcontractor, who then hired an independent contractor to do the work. The independent contractor fell into a hole at the project site. The injured man filed suit against the general contractor. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the general contractor. The injured party appealed, and the appellate court sent the case back to the trial court, ruling that the non-employee of the subcontractor has the right to sue the general contractor. If the independent contractor wins, general contractors could face a slew of lawsuits from non-employees hired by subcontractors. If this were to happen, general contractors would likely require any workers hired by subcontractors to be employees, not independent contractors. We will be watching for the trial court's ruling. The complete article is available at: http://www.claimsjournal.com/news/west/2008/12/09/96170.htm