Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is CJ Staff.
A split North Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that a Department of Transportation contractor does not have to cover part of the bill for a Robeson County deputy sheriff's roadside injury.
Plaintiff Stephen Matthew Lassiter had argued that Truesdell Corporation should cover some of his worker's compensation costs. Lassiter, a Robeson County deputy, was injured in 2019 while doing traffic control for a DOT project contracted to Truesdell.
The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled in December 2023 that both the Robeson sheriff and the Truesdell Corporation should cover Lassiter's worker compensation costs. The Supreme Court split, 4-3, in overturning the appellate decision involving Truesdell.
"Truesdell neither directed nor instructed the manner and method in which plaintiff carried out his duties," Justice Tamara Barringer wrote for the majority.
"Instead, plaintiff relied exclusively upon his law enforcement experience and training in managing the traffic flow. ... These details of plaintiff's traffic control work were independent of Truesdell's instruction or supervision. No Truesdell representatives were present where traffic was being directed."
