Inmate Injured on Work-Release Was Not County 'Employee'

A Mississippi county jail inmate who was seriously injured while assisting law enforcement officials during a drug bust was not a county employee for purposes of workers' compensation, and so the county's insurance carrier did not need to pay for his $640,000 in medical bills, a federal appellate court ruled.The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled that the Public Entities Workers' Compensation Trust was entitled to judgment as a matter of law since Tippah County did not have an "enforceable contract of hire" with Timmy Vuncannon, and such a contract was a necessary pr...