Subcontractor’s Insurer Is Liable for Injuries Suffered by Uninsured Sub-Subcontractor’s Worker
           In Begor v. Holmes, 2010 Slip Op. 00324 (3d Dept. Jan. 14, 2010), claimant was injured in a logging accident while employed by Four Seasons Logging (Four Seasons) and later died from complications of his injuries. The general contractor of the project, Brenner & McHugh entered into a subcontract with Mid Hudson Hardwood (Mid Hudson). Mid Hudson in turn, subcontracted with the claimant’s employer, Four Seasons.Â
           At the time of the accident, Mid Hudson’s human resource functions were managed by Hudson Valley Staff Limited (Hudson Valley). Under this arraignment, Hudson Valley selected employees and leased them back to Mid Hudson. Mid Hudson’s leased employees were covered by a workers’ compensation policy obtained by Hudson Valley and issued by American Zurich Insurance Company (Zurich). The policy provided coverage for only those employees leased to but not subcontractors of Mid Hudson, including claimant.
           The court determined that Mid Hudson had exposed itself to workers’ compensation liability by subcontracting work to Four Seasons, which had no coverage. The court noted that Workers’ Compensation Law Section 56 places liability on the contractor nearest in the chain to the uninsured employer in order to encourage contractors to employ only those contractors who have workers’ compensation coverage, or face the financial risk themselves. Therefore, under the clear language of Workers’ Compensation Law Sections 54(4) and 56, Mid Hudson, as the nearest insured subcontractor to Four Seasons was liable to claimant.  Â
