Last month, one of the key legal developments involving independent contractors (ICs) was a decision by the highest court in Massachusetts involving a legal doctrine being used more frequently than ever against businesses that engage ICs: negligent hiring. Many companies assume the doctrine applies only to employees and often assume that, by retaining ICs, they are free from liability in the event an IC causes personal injury or property damage to third parties. Yet, as summarized below, among the key legal developments last month, a business can be liable for damages to third parties caused by an IC under a number of different legal theories: negligent hiring of the IC, if it can be shown that the business knew or should have known that the contractor was unsuitable for the services to be performed; ordinary negligence, if the business did not draft the IC contract in a manner to protect itself from such claims; and vicarious liability (also called respondeat superior) if the worker was misclassified as an IC instead of an employee. Companies can use a process such as IC Diagnostics to structure, document, and implement their IC relationships in a manner that maximizes compliance with laws governing ICs and, at the same time, minimizes their exposure to third-party liability.

In the Courts (5 cases)

Massachusetts High Court Defines a Company’s Liability to Third Parties for a Contractor’s Alleged Negligence. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in August decided a...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMigwFBVV95cUxORE56OVFndDNKYXpxWWszME1D...