Horizontal Immunity - Workers' Compensation Reform
1/29/2007
Coral Gables, Florida

An Explanation of Horizontal Immunity:

The Florida Crane Owners Council played a lead role in the restoration of "Horizontal Immunity" into the 2003 landmark Workers' Compensation reform package that became law in Florida on October 1, 2003.  The effort took several years and was the focus of a large number of FCOC Directors and Members.

Workers' Compensation Statute 440.10(1)(e) states:
(e) a subcontractor providing services in conjunction with a contractor on the same project or contract work is not liable for the payment of compensation to the employees of another subcontractor or the contractor on such contract work and is protected by the exclusiveness-of-liability provisions of s. 440.11 from any action at law or in admiralty on account of injury to an employee of another subcontractor, or the contractor, provided that:
 
1.   The subcontractor has secured workers' compensation insurance for its employees or the contractor has secured such insurance on behalf of the subcontractor and its employees in accordance with paragraph (b); and

2.  The subcontractors own gross negligence was not the major contributing cause of the injury.

Prior to the restoration of "Horizontal Immunity" two workers on the same job, doing the same tasks, would often have different rights.  If one worker was injured by the negligence of his employer or fellow employee, he could not bring suit for that wrongdoing.  Workers' Compensation was his sole remedy. Yet the second worker, if injured while doing the same task but was injured through the negligence of another subcontractor on the job, could collect both workers' compensation and bring a civil suit against the subcontractor.  

This fundamental flaw in the system would encourage plaintiff lawyers to pursue lawsuits which would assign the majority of negligence on another subcontractor, who is not the employer of the injured worker, for the purposes of pursuing a civil suit regardless of who actually was at fault.

As an example, prior to the restoration of “Horizontal Immunity"   a crane company may have had a crane and an operator on lease / rent to an HVAC contractor for the purposes of lifting a chiller unit into place. The crane operator may have taken direction or signals from the HVAC company's employee.  If the operator was conducting the lift in the blind under the direction or signal from the HVAC's signalman (employee) and in the process injured another HVAC company employee. The injured employee would be prohibited from suing both the HVAC company and the HVAC company employee who negligently provided the signals to the crane operator; however the injured worker would not be prohibited from suing the crane company.

Now that "Horizontal Immunity" has been rightfully restored, workers' compensation is now the sole remedy in the event of worksite accidents and the injured workers and their attorneys are now prohibited from suing other subcontractors on the jobsite.

For additional information please contact:

Randy Proos CIC
Vice President

USI Insurance Services of Florida, Inc
201 Alhambra Circle, Suite 1000
Coral Gables, Florida. 33134

305-357-2429 Direct Phone
469-519-7209 Direct Fax
305-669-6030 Office Fax

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