Independent contractor invokes employee rule in personal injury case

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted September 7, 2022 11:38 AM

Trying to keep his personal injury complaint against Nucor Steel Kankakee from getting knocked out by the exculpatory clause in a “gate entry agreement,” Oscar Munoz — an independent contractor who was severely injured by a fall at Nucor’s recycling facility — invoked the rationale of the longstanding Illinois doctrine that bars employers from using contracts to avoid liability to employees for personal injuries.This line of precedent survives into the modern workers’ compensation era, having been extended to job …

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