Smith v. Desautels

¶ 1. Plaintiff, Carl Smith, was working for defendants, Desautels House Movers, Inc. and Emile Desautels, when an acetylene tank fell on his hand and crushed it. Although defendants did not have workers’ compensation insurance, they paid for workers’ compensation benefits claimed and received by plaintiff. After exhausting his benefits, plaintiff brought this suit, seeking damages for defendants’ negligence. The superior court granted summary judgment for defendants, concluding that plaintiff had made a binding election to claim compensation pursuant to 21 V.S.A. § 618(b) and was, therefore,…