Arnold Lakind Represents Business Owner’s Wife Relieving Her of Liability After Employee Accident

Arnold Lakind representing Kathryn Hensler

A little known provision of the workers compensation act imposes personal liability upon corporate officers “actively engaged” in the corporate business. The Plaintiff worked for a local hardware retailer, where he sustained the loss of an eye due to an unfortunate accident. The hardware retailer, who had filed for bankruptcy, had no workers compensation insurance. The injured employee sued the corporate secretary, the divorced wife of the president of the now bankrupt corporation. The workers compensation court awarded a $90,000 judgment to the employee. We were retained to represent the wife on appeal. In a reported decision, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court ruled that the wife was not “actively engaged” in her husband’s business, vacated the judgment, and relieved our client of any liability.