D & C Express, Inc. v. Sperry

HARRIS, Justice.

Larry Sperry sought workers’ compensation benefits after he slipped and fell from his tractor-trailer. Sperry claimed to have been employed by D & C Express, an Iowa corporation which hauls steel products throughout the country. D & C Express defended on the ground Sperry was an independent contractor rather than an employee. The industrial commissioner awarded benefits. 1 On judicial review the award was sustained but ordered reduced by the district court. We affirm.

In 1983 Sperry was the owner-operator of a semitrailer truck. He leased it to D & C Express under a written…