Upshaw v. Hale Intermodal Transport Co.

Smith, Judge.

Henry Upshaw, the owner-operator of an 18-wheel tractor-trailer, leased both his truck and his services as a driver to Hale Intermodal Transport Company. He was seriously injured in a vehicular accident on Interstate 20 after being dispatched to Charleston, South Carolina, by Hale. He applied for workers’ compensation benefits, which were denied on the basis that Upshaw was an independent contractor and not an employee of Hale. The ALJ, the appellate division of the Workers’ Compensation Board, and the superior court affirmed the denial. We granted Upshaw’s application for…