Claim of Ward v. Red Star Express Lines of Auburn, Inc.

In this case the Workmen’s Compensation Board has relieved from liability the State Insurance Fund which had insured the deceased’s direct employer. It has imposed liability for death benefits on a general contractor and its insurance carrier, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, with which the employer had a subcontract for trucking. The theory of decision is that the direct employer was not insured at the time of accident. The statute (Workmen’s Compensation Law, § 56) provides that unless the subcontractor primarily liable for payment of compensation benefits “ has secured compensation…