CGL Carrier Owes Coverage for $1.15M Verdict for Worker's Injuries from Trench Collapse

A narrowly divided Oklahoma Supreme Court last week ruled that a commercial general liability insurance carrier for an excavating company owed coverage for a $1.15 million verdict in favor of a temporary worker who was injured in a trench collapse. The court said Wilson Paving & Excavating wasn't immune from civil liability because Steven Broom wasn't its "employee," and none of the coverage exclusions in its CGL policy got Mid-Continent Casualty Co. off the hook for the award due to Broom. Four justices dissented, arguing Broom had gotten a full recovery for his in...