Liability for injuries to a special employee.

Practice point: Plaintiff was employed as a contract travel nurse at the defendant-hospital, and, at the cafeteria during her assigned lunch-time, she slipped and fell while waiting in line to pay one of the cashiers.
A special employee is one who is transferred, for a limited time of whatever duration, to the service of another. When an employee is eligible to receive Workers' Compensation benefits from his general employer, a special employer is shielded from any action at law commenced by the employee, pursuant to Workers' Compensation Law § 29[6].

Student note: The key to the determination is a fact-intensive inquiry into who controls and directs the manner, details, and ultimate result of the employee's work.

Case: Warner v. Continuum Health Care Partners, Inc., NY Slip 07211 (1st Dept. 2012).

Monday’s issue: Collapsed ceiling, and late discovery demands.