Liability Carrier Claimed Plaintiff Was employee of Owners

$3 Million Judgment

The plaintiff was a 38-year-old man who was "scalped" when his hair got caught in a combine. He sued the owners of the farm where he was working.The accident happened on June 20, 1996. The plaintiff was unloading fescue seed from a combine hopper when his ponytail became entangled in a spinning shaft on the combine. As a result, his scalp was pulled from his head. He subsequently had skin grafts with tissue from his legs.The plaintiff filed a personal injury action against the farm owners. The owners' liability carrier defended under a reservation of rights. The plaintiff then entered into an agreement with the owners in which they would let him take a default judgment against them, not disputing liability, and in exchange he would collect only against the insurance carrier. A default judgment was taken, and the court evaluated the plaintiff's damages at $3 million.The insurance company filed for a declaratory judgment of no coverage, contending that the plaintiff was working for Mid-America Catering, also owned by the farm owners, at the time of the accident. It claimed that workers' compensation benefits were available to the worker through Mid-America Catering, that all employees of the owners were excluded from coverage in the liability policy, and that the owners failed to cooperate with the company, gave false statements and colluded with the plaintiff.At the subsequent bench trial, an investigator for the insurance company testified that there was no evidence that the plaintiff was working for Mid-America Catering at the time of his injury. The court found that the policy covered the plaintiff's injuries and that there was no evidence of collusion between the owners and the plaintiff.

Type of Action: Negligence, declaratory judgment

Type of Injuries: Loss of scalp

Court/Case Number/Date: Jasper County Circuit Court/CV297-52CC/July 20, 1998

Caption: Armer v. Love, et al.; Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. v. Love, et al.

Judge, Jury, or ADR: Judge

Name of Judge: William Crawford

Special Damages Claimed: $96,000 past medical expense

Verdict or Settlement: $3 million judgment

Allocation of Fault: N/A

Last Offer: None

Last Demand: $450,000

Attorneys for Plaintiff: Scott Gallagher and Roger Johnson, Joplin (represented worker in personal injury action; represented worker and farm owners in declaratory judgment action)

Insurance Carrier: Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. of Dade County

Plaintiff's Expert: Hollis Hanover, Kansas City (attorney)

Defendant's Experts: None