Court: Jim Beam Not Immune from Liability for Ladder Fall

ladder

The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled on Sept. 11 that Jim Beam Brands Co. is not entitled to “up-the-ladder” immunity from tort liability for injuries suffered by a fuel delivery driver for Premier AG Co-Op who fell from a ladder while dispensing fuel oil into holding tanks at Jim Beam’s Clermont distillery in January 2022.
The ruling comes on remand from the Kentucky Supreme Court, which directed reconsideration, clarifying that “regular or recurrent work” under Kentucky’s up-the-ladder immunity statute must be work a business would normally perform with its own employees.
The court found that because fuel transportation is a highly regulated task requiring specialized licensing that Jim Beam’s own employees don’t possess, the work performed by Norman could not be considered “regular or recurrent” to Jim Beam’s bourbon production and tourism business, even though the distillery relied on regular fuel deliveries to power tour buses, service vehicles and barrel-transport trucks.
The decision reverses a Bullitt Circuit Court ruling that had granted summary judgment to Jim Beam, meaning Norman’s premises liability lawsuit against the distillery — filed separately from a workers’ compensation claim against his employer, Premier AG — can now proceed.

A greeter working for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood in Broward County, Florida, has sued the Seminole Tribe of Florida for injuries she sustained in May 2025 after her patron tort claim processed through the tribe’s third-party administrator and a separate workers’ compensation claim were denied.
The greeter alleges she slipped on a liquid spill in a corridor running past the sportsbook and onto the casino floor during a mass exit following a concert at Hard Rock Live. She filed suit in Broward County Circuit Court, seeking more than $50,000 in damages plus legal fees.
The complaint accuses the tribe of failing to properly staff the exit route, inspect the area, clear the spill, or warn patrons, noting that both the concert venue and casino floor sell drinks that patrons can carry along the same path, and argues the tribe knew or should have known that spills and unmanaged crowds on that route were a recurring problem.
Patron injury claims against the tribe’s casinos are governed by Part VI of the Gaming Compact with the State of Florida; The case remains pending, with the allegations untested in court and the tribe’s formal response yet to come.

A school bus driver for Washington County Public Schools in Hagerstown, Maryland has asked the school board to review how the district handles cases where students injure transportation employees, particularly students receiving special education services.
The driver said bus attendants have suffered black eyes, concussions and pulled muscles, and described one case where a student broke an attendant’s hand, forcing the employee to miss the rest of the school year and file a workers’ compensation claim.
Wood also cited other incidents involving employees being bitten, hit or having their hair pulled, and asked the board to examine injury records for transportation staff and teachers and consider additional safeguards when student behavior puts staff at risk.
The concerns were raised alongside broader staff and union complaints at a recent public comment session, including calls for a Bill of Rights for Education Support Professionals and continued funding for aging school buildings.