When an Indiana Workers’ Compensation Claim Involves More Than One Employer

A workplace injury is usually reported to the company that signs the paycheck. On a construction site, warehouse floor, manufacturing plant, or temporary assignment, however, that company may be only one part of the workers’ compensation claim. Another business may direct the work, control the jobsite, or carry insurance that also applies to the employment arrangement.

When a workplace injury happens during an assignment involving more than one company, questions about the employer and insurance carrier can delay medical treatment and wage benefits. Early guidance from an experienced Indianapolis workers’ compensation lawyer can clarify which employer and insurer should be handling the workers’ compensation claim.

Why More Than One Employer May Be Part of a Workers’ Compensation Claim

A warehouse may rely on employees supplied by a staffing agency, while a construction project can have crews from several subcontractors working under the same general contractor. Manufacturing plants also bring in outside workers for maintenance, installation, and specialized projects.

Payroll records may identify one employer, while the daily job points to another company as well. Someone may receive a paycheck from one business while supervisors from a different company assign the work, provide the machinery, and control the schedule.

Once an injury is reported, both companies may become involved in deciding where the workers’ compensation claim goes. One employer may send the injury report to its carrier while another business involved in the assignment has separate coverage or responsibility for the worker. Uncertainty between the companies can slow authorization for medical care and leave wage benefits unresolved.

Workers’ Compensation for Temporary Staffing Assignments

Temporary workers commonly have ties to both the staffing agency and the company where the assignment takes place. A staffing agency may hire the worker and handle payroll, while supervisors at the host business control where the employee works, what tasks are performed, and how each shift is organized.

Indiana workers’ compensation law can recognize both businesses as employers in this type of arrangement. The staffing agency may remain responsible for payroll and benefits while the host company directs the day-to-day work that led to the injury.

A staffing agreement may address workers’ compensation insurance, supervision, and responsibility for workplace injuries. The actual assignment adds important context. If the host company controlled the schedule, provided the equipment, and supervised the work, the relationship may involve more than the business named on the paycheck.

After a temporary worker is hurt, both sides of the arrangement may need to be examined before the proper carrier is clear. That can become especially important when medical treatment or wage benefits are being delayed while the staffing agency and host company sort out their respective roles.

Who Directed the Work When the Injury Happened

Temporary staffing is not the only arrangement that can complicate a workers’ compensation claim.

Employees may be loaned to another business, assigned to a related company, or placed under another contractor’s supervision for part of a project.

Daily supervision may reveal a different employment relationship from the one shown in payroll records. One company may issue the paycheck while another sets the hours, assigns the tasks, provides the equipment, and decides whether the employee remains on the assignment.

Work schedules, time records, emails, jobsite reports, and witness accounts can preserve how the arrangement operated before an injury changed the relationship between the companies. Instructions given on the day of the accident may also show which business was directing the work when the injury occurred.

A company that exercised significant control over the assignment may have a role in the workers’ compensation claim even though another employer handled wages and payroll. That question can determine which carrier is responsible for treatment and wage benefits after the injury.

Missing Subcontractor Coverage and Workers’ Compensation Responsibility

Construction injuries create another type of multi-employer workers’ compensation problem. A general contractor may oversee a project where electrical, roofing, concrete, plumbing, and other work is divided among several subcontractors. Each crew may have its own employer and its own workers’ compensation policy.

Before subcontracted work begins, contractors commonly obtain proof that the subcontractor carries workers’ compensation insurance. If an employee is seriously injured and the subcontractor never had the required coverage, the lack of insurance can quickly become part of the claim.

Indiana law provides protection for workers caught in that situation. If the required proof of workers’ compensation coverage was not obtained, responsibility for benefits can reach farther up the contracting chain.

Insurance certificates and construction contracts can show what coverage existed when the project began. An employee facing surgery, months away from work, or lasting restrictions may need benefits from a policy farther up the contractor chain when the direct employer was uninsured.

Coverage Disputes Can Delay Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Disagreement over the employer or insurance carrier can slow a claim at the moment medical care and lost-wage benefits are needed most. Treatment authorization may stall while insurers determine which policy applies, and benefit checks can remain unresolved while the companies argue over the employment arrangement.

Those delays are felt immediately after a serious workplace injury. Missed paychecks continue while appointments are being scheduled, and uncertainty over which company is handling the claim can complicate communication with doctors, employers, and insurance adjusters.

Once a dispute between companies begins delaying benefits, working with a knowledgeable Indianapolis workers’ compensation lawyer can help determine which insurer should be handling the medical and wage benefits.

Contact Lee Cossell & Feagley

If you were injured while working through a staffing agency, for a subcontractor, or on assignment at another company’s jobsite, uncertainty over which employer is responsible can make an already difficult workers’ compensation claim harder to navigate.

Lee Cossell & Feagley, LLP represents workers in Indianapolis and throughout Indiana whose claims involve temporary assignments, subcontractors, and other multi-employer worksites. Contact Lee Cossell & Feagley to speak with a trusted Indianapolis workers’ compensation lawyer and learn how we can help pursue the medical care and workers’ compensation benefits available after a workplace injury.