Blog - Tag: Subcontractors

Did you know your firm can be held liable under your own workers’ comp policy if a subcontractor’s employee is injured? Courts have ruled time and again that if a company hires a subcontractor without coverage and an employee gets hurt on the job, the injured worker can seek coverage under the hiring company’s policy.

In many cases, an injured worker may even be a third- of fourth-level contractor, but if none of your subcontractors are carrying workers’ comp, a claim can hit your own policy. This scenario is even more likely if your firm, as the main contractor, has substantial control over the sub’s employees.

To determine coverage, courts generally start with the sub whose employee was injured and move up the chain until they find a valid workers’ comp policy.

Protect yourself by requiring your subcontractors to have a certificate of insurance. But don’t stop there; you should call the insurance carrier to see if the certificate is valid.

You can check also with your state’s contractor licensing to see if your subcontractor has workers’ comp coverage.