Originally Posted by
Malcolm McLeod
It is not so much about you, or what you would do. We live in a drive thru world where everyone gets to 'win the lottery' - or so many imagine - and a WC claim is gold to some. Personal responsibility, no matter how admirable, is dying.
And yes, your insurer might sue your neighbor - - if not for your benefit, then to reduce the shared cost burden on their other customers.
"Whaaat a country!!" - Yakov Smirnoff.
Keep in mind personal responsibility is a two edge sword, though in modern parlance it is often meant only to cut one way.
Again comp is designed to take fault out of the equation, save some situations that state by state have been codified as an affirmative defense such as intoxication of the worker, that's why a blood draw is standard upon arrival of a workplace injury to the initial medical provider.
It seems comp is being viewed as a one way street only for the benefit of the worker but it benefits the employer as well by removing the chance for a worker to sue for the negligence of the employer. It mitigates liability and allows for much more manageable costs. Without comp employers would have much more exposure.
On to the OP. Honestly, there is a lot of misinformation in the thread regarding who can sue whom in all these different hypotheticals, or more accurately who has the chance of recovery if they do sue but it is so diverse I don't feel like trying to deal with each one and state law covers most negligence cases so it leaves possibly 50 different answers plus the basic common law and Napoleonic Code versions. In general insurance companies can't sue "for you" the have no standing in most situations but they do have subrogation rights and you may have a contractual obligation to help them recover their losses if someone else is at fault.
The OP should also check the WC laws in the state he plans to operate in, some states don't require WC for very small operations with say 1-3 employees, this is more prevalent in the South East though, many states require comp even for 1 part time worker but will all have pay thresholds usually by quarter but it is fairly low, usually in the 500-1000 bucks in a quarter area.
If you do hire subs makes sure they have comp or investigate any chance of you having exposure, if they work in their shops and don't have any common jobsite with you it is unlikely BUT depends on the local laws.
The Amish is somewhat of a red herring in that they are essentially a separate workforce that operate under a different set of "rules" and they basically self insure through their community and often have programs like the SBA which exempts them from WC. That said I know of no state that exempts a non-Amish employer who employees Amish workers from carrying comp on them so unless they are independent contractors (meet the common law tests for the IRS along with any state specific tests) a business would probably have to treat them as employees.
I get it, any business expense sux to have to lay out, I am a small business owner and have paid for comp insurance for over 20 years.
Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.
Deep thought for the day:
Your bandsaw weighs more when you leave the spring compressed instead of relieving the tension.