Defense Contractor Must Pay Injured Non-Comp Worker’s $1 Million

A defense contractor will have to pay a $1 million damages to an injured worker, after the Texas appeals court ruled he isn’t its employee limited to the exclusive remedies of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act.

The state doesn’t make employers secure workers compensation insurance, but when they do, it becomes an injured employee’s exclusive remedy for a work accident, the Texas Appeals Court, Eighth District said Wednesday. Because King Aerospace had a valid insurance policy at the time of the accident, the only question is whether injured worker Jorge Hernandez was King’s employee.

“Even considering the contrary evidence that ...