Negligent Employer Must Pay Costs of Injury to Another Company’s Employee

A worker for a trucking company got out of his truck at another employer’s site, slipped on ice and fell. Workers’ comp covered his injury. But the trucking company said the other employer should be responsible for these costs because the injury was due to its negligence. The Appeals Commission agreed. It was reasonably foreseeable that a visitor could slip and fall given the weather and conditions. So the employer should’ve taken reasonable steps to address the slippery and icy conditions, such as sanding. Thus, the Commission concluded that the full costs of the worker’s injury should be transferred to the employer due to its negligence [Decision No: 2012-968, [2012] CanLII 68325 (AB WCAC), Oct. 30, 2012].