Claim of Gardner v. Triple R Transport, Inc.

Claimant, a truck driver, was injured while working for the employer in 1999. Claimant sought workers’ compensation benefits and the employer’s workers’ compensation carrier contested, among other things, the existence of an employer-employee relationship. The Workers’ Compensation Board determined that there was such a relationship and the case continued. Based upon claimant’s 1999 tax return, which reflected that his gross income was $49,224, the Board set claimant’s average weekly wage at $946.61. Asserting that claimant’s average weekly wage should have been based upon his net income —…