Royal Oak, MI — A man working as an industrial painter was badly injured in the Royal Oak area earlier this week after he was electrically shocked while painting a building. The man was later identified as Kevin Blackburn and this happened on Saturday, June 13, 2015.
Blackburn was apparently using an extension pole to paint a building that day when the pole accidentally came into contact with some power lines. Blackburn was shocked and fell to the ground.
His arms and hands were badly injured and the doctors ultimately had to take his hands. The cause of this accident isn’t clear yet and it’s not clear if there’s been any investigation into what happened.
It’s also not clear if Blackburn was working for a company at the time or himself. A GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for Blackburn, who does not have insurance.
Map of the Royal Oak
Commentary:
This kind of accident is the worst type because, in many ways, there is no relief available, legally speaking, for workers who are injured while independent contractors. When workers are on the job, but are working as their own employee or as an independent contractor, they often give up the possibility of workers’ compensation benefits that regular employees would be able to take advantage of in the event of an accident.
However, in just about every workers’ comp case I’ve handled, there’s been confusion over the terms “employee” and “contractor.” The reason is most independent contractors are treated like regular employees (controlled wages, set hours, specific instructions, etc), yet their employer insists on paying them like independent contractors, tax-free. For legal purposes, the employer gets to wash their hands of any accident or harm that befalls the “contractor” and they are left with no recourse or recovery options.
However, because the law is very demanding when it comes to treating employees like employees and contractors like contractors, there can often be a case to argue that would force the employer to take responsibility for the accident. In many instances, that means access to workers’ compensation benefits or other legal action.
I don’t know much about this man’s working situation or who hired him, but this kind of information isn’t exactly covered in most employee handbooks, so I try to post helpful information here with my experience in that area of the law.
— Grossman Law Offices
