Chemical Burn Negligence Suit Tossed Over Exclusive Remedy

scaffolding

A federal judge dismissed with prejudice a worker’s negligence lawsuit against Oklahoma-based Occidental Chemical Corp., ruling the company was his statutory employer and that Louisiana workers’ compensation law was his exclusive remedy following a September 2023 chemical burn injury.
The worker, an employee of contractor Turner Industries Group LLC, alleged a caustic solution penetrated his protective equipment and burned his feet while he was erecting scaffolding at Occidental’s Geismar facility, accusing the company of negligence in maintaining, repairing and supervising the site.
Occidental moved for summary judgment, pointing to its contract with Turner, which designated Occidental as the statutory employer and described Turner’s work as integral and essential to its business, creating a rebuttable presumption of statutory employment under Louisiana law.
The court found the worker had failed to present evidence showing his scaffolding work, which facilitated repairs in a chlorine unit, was nonessential to Occidental’s chemical manufacturing operations, upholding the statutory employer defense and dismissing the negligence claims.

The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Industrial Accident Board’s denial of workers’ compensation benefits to an employee of Hockessin, La.-based masonry firm Borsello Companies, Inc. who alleged a lumbar spine injury in February 2024, finding the Board’s determinations were supported by substantial evidence.
The worker claimed he immediately reported the injury, but the company disputed receiving any such report. He didn’t text a project manager about his back until 10 days later, was advised to contact the company president but never did and continued normal work duties until being terminated for insubordination in mid-March 2024.
He went to the emergency room for back pain on March 21, more than a month after the alleged incident, where records showed he reported his pain had been ongoing for over a year, denied any recent trauma and admitted he hadn’t followed up on a prior specialist referral.
The Board found the worker’s testimony not credible and favored the employer’s medical expert over the worker’s.

Jovon Palmer, of Groveport, Ohio, pleaded guilty to workers’ compensation fraud after investigators found he was operating his own cleaning business while collecting disability benefits from the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.
The BWC’s Special Investigations Unit opened its inquiry after receiving an allegation that Palmer had returned to work while actively collecting benefits.
Investigators determined Palmer knowingly and fraudulently engaged in employment activities tied to his cleaning business while continuing to receive BWC payments.
A Franklin County judge accepted Palmer’s guilty plea on Sept. 14 and ordered him to pay $10,994.30 in restitution.