LITIGATIONRESULTS - Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek SC

WHD Obtains Summary
Judgment in Personal Injury
Case Arising from Loading/
Unloading Operations
WHD received a summary judgment decision in favor of its client, a
transportation service provider. The plaintiff, one of WHD’s client’s employees,
was seriously injured as he made a delivery. He had backed up his truck to
the loading dock and was standing off to the side near the bottom of the dock
when an employee of the company receiving the delivery ran over his foot
with a forklift. The foot, nearly lost during the incident, ballooned to almost
twice the size as his other foot. The plaintiff sued the company receiving the
delivery and two of its employees. WHD’s client was named as a defendant
because it had a worker’s compensation lien. The delivery customers, its
employees and their insurer cross-claimed against WHD’s client pursuant
to Wis. Stat. § 194.41(1) and the loaned employee doctrine. Wis. Stat. §
194.41(1) extends an obligation for certain motor carriers to have insurance
coverage for loading and unloading operations and to third parties involved in
the process of loading/unloading. Under Wis. Stat. § 194.41(1), WHD’s client
could have been held liable for the plaintiff’s injuries, notwithstanding worker’s
compensation exclusivity, because it was allegedly engaged in loading/
unloading operations at the time of the accident. To complicate the case,
WHD’s client originally failed to timely answer.
Ultimately, WHD obtained relief from the default, and prevailed on summary
judgment by arguing that the transportation company fell within a narrow
exception to Wis. Stat. § 194.41(1), getting the cross-claim dismissed. In
particular, WHD established that its client was not liable because the requirements
of Wis. Stat. § 194.41(1) did not apply to “a motor carrier that is registered
by another state under a single-state or unified carrier registration system
consistent with the standards established by the federal administrative code.”
Additionally, WHD obtained an award of taxable costs and recovered the worker’s
compensation lien in full. There is a cushion for any future medical expenses.
schmidt
laffey
Litigation Type: Personal injury defense
Court: Outagamie County Circuit Court
Lead WHD Counsel: Pamela Schmidt and Jack Laffey
Principal WHD Team Members: Pamela Schmidt, Jack Laffey
Practice Areas Involved: Transportation Litigation & Compliance,
Worker’s Compensation
34 LITIGATION RESULTS