A hospital shares liability for an emergency room surgeon’s negligence, despite independent contractor classification. A worker’s establishment as a business is not enough to confirm IC classification.
Liability. A Maryland appeals court ruled last month that Prince George’s Hospital Center shares $6.1 million in liability for an emergency room surgeon’s negligence even though he was an independent contractor and not an employee, The Daily Record reported. The decision reinstates a lower court’s ruling in Terence Williams v. Dimensions Health Corp.
The court rejected the hospital’s argument that it was immune from liability because the orthopedist was not a staff physician and hence not an “agent” of the center when his delayed treatment of a car crash victim’s right leg necessitated its amputation.
LLCs. In East Bay Drywall, LLC v. Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Supreme Court of New Jersey on Aug. 2 ruled that a worker’s establishment as a separate corporate structure or LLC by itself is not enough to establish independent contractor status under the New Jersey Unemployment Compensation Act, JD Supra reported.
According to the court, the key question is “whether a worker can maintain a business independent of and apart from the employer.” In other words, a person’s business must be capable of surviving even if the working relationship is terminated.
