Exclusive remedy rules prevent a contract employee whose arm was amputated in an on-the-job accident from suing the city he was working for at the time, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled. Elbert Johnson worked for Fort Worth, Texas-based Magnum Staffing Services Inc., which provided staff to the city of Bellaire, Texas. Mr. Johnson lost his arm in 2008 when he was riding on the back of a garbage truck for Bellaire, and a sudden turn caused his arm to become trapped in the mechanism, according to court records. Mr. Johnson, who received benefits through Magnum's workers compensation policy, sued Bellaire and the city employee who was driving the garbage truck at the time of the accident. The city argued that exclusive remedy provisions barred Mr. Johnson's negligence suit, but Mr. Johnson contended that he was a borrowed employee who could not be covered by Bellaire's workers comp fund for “paid” employees.
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