Aimwell Inc. v. McLendon Enters. Inc.; McLendon Enters. Inc. v. Aimwell Inc.

The employer had sole wage liability to the injured joint employee, although the customer paid the employer for the employee's services, because the employer alone paid the injured employee's wages, and under OCGA § 34-9-224, each employer's compensation contribution to an injured employee is proportional to its responsibility for paying the employee's wages.

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In this worker’s compensation case, the administrative law judge “ALJ” awarded benefits to Orlando Gaffney, an injured employee of Aimwell, Inc., against both Aimwell and Aimwell’s customer, McLendon Enterprises, Inc. “McLendon”, in equal parts, finding that Gaffney was a joint employee of both entities at the time of his injury. The Appellate Division of the State Board of Worker’s Compensation upheld the factual findings of the ALJ award, but set aside the equal liability apportionment, concluding that Aimwell was required to pay for 100 percent of the claim pursuant to OCGA § 34-9-224. The superior court affirmed the Board’s decision, and Aimwell filed an application for discretionary appeal, which this Court granted. Aimwell and its insurer appeal in Case No. A12A1415, arguing that the superior court applied the incorrect standard of review and misapplied the borrowed servant doctrine and OCGA § 34-9-224. McLendon and its insurer cross-appeal in Case No. A12A1416, arguing that Gaffney was not McLendon’s borrowed servant at the time of his injury. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

The record shows that Aimwell was a truck and driver leasing company, which provided hauling services to road contractors, including dump trucks and licensed drivers. Aimwell’s main customer was McLendon, a road grading and utility contractor, which had some of its own trucks and drivers ; Aimwell’s and McLendon’s offices were located in the same building and owned by a brother and sister. McLendon required Aimwell to provide proof of liability and worker’s compensation insurance for Aimwell’s employees before using them.

Aimwell Inc. v. McLendon Enters. Inc.; McLendon Enters. Inc. v. Aimwell Inc.

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