PA: General Contractor Immune from Drilling Site Death Suit

The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirmed a trial court ruling that a general contractor is immune from suit for the death of a worker at a drilling site.  The subcontractor paid workers’ comp to the worker’s fiancé on behalf of his son, and the worker’s estate filed a negligence suit against the general contractor.  The estate argued that because the general contractor was leasing the land, it should be designated a property owner rather than a general contractor.  The court rejected the estate’s argument based on its interpretation of Pennsylvania’s workers’ comp statute.  Law 360 has the story.