Car Owner Sued after Worker Dies Changing his Oil

Mount Clemens, MI (WorkersCompensation.com) – A Michigan man faces owing $15 million to the family of a dead worker after the worker was killed by a coworker.   

According to the suit, on March 13, a Mount Clemens man took his Jeep to Rochester Hills Chrysler Jeep Dodge for a routine oil change. Once the car was dropped off, an employee of the business, who didn’t have a license and couldn’t drive a stick shift, attempted to move the car.   

"He starts the car, removes his foot from the clutch, and you know what happens? The Jeep jumps and kills my client," said attorney David Femminineo.  

Femminineo said the vehicle hit and killed Jeffrey Hawkins, a 42-year-old mechanic working at the dealership. Hawkins death was instant, Femminineo said.   

Court documents said once the owner dropped the car off at the dealership, it was worked on by the 19-year-old who had worked at the dealership for only two months prior to the incident. When the employee had finished the work on the Jeep, he lowered it, setting all four wheels on the ground.   

The employee then checked for oil leaks by starting the car. Although he was outside of the car, the employee used his right foot on the brake (and his right hand to press the start button) in an effort to start the car. When nothing happened, he took his foot of the brake and pressed the clutch and the start button, which worked. Still standing outside of the car, the employee then removed his foot off the clutch, engaging the gear and moving the car forward.   

Court documents said Hawkins had bent down in front of the Jeep at that moment to get something in a cabinet with his back to the Jeep. When the Jeep lurched forward, it crushed Hawkins into the cabinet.   

Now, two years later, who is at fault? According to the law, Femminineo said, it’s not the other worker or the dealership who are responsible, it’s the owner.   

Femminineo told FOX2, that under Michigan law, if someone is injured or killed and a vehicle is involved, the owner of the car is responsible.   

"We can't (sue the dealership) because of a legal standard that is involved," Femminineo said.  

According to the attorney, as part of the grand bargain, an injured coworker cannot sue his boss because of the boss’ negligence. In this case, the dealership could be negligent because they hired someone who wasn’t licensed to drive and didn’t know how to drive a stick shift. But, because of state law, even though he hired someone who wasn’t supposed to be driving, Hawkins family can’t sue the dealership for negligence.  

Instead, they will have to file for workers’ compensation, and will get wages and medical benefits based on how much he was making at the time of his on -the-job death.   

But, Femminineo said, because Hawkins’ death involved a car, the state’s owner’s liability statute means the owner of the car is the one legally responsible for Hawkins’ death. Because the driver of the Jeep gave the dealership permission to drive the car, the owner is the one who is negligent, the attorney said.   

Under the law, because Hawkins was injured and killed on the job, his family is entitled to seek workers’ compensation benefits. But this prevents them from being able to sue the boss.   

Officials said the Jeep’s owner could sue the dealership for indemnity, which he has. With indemnity, if the judge rules the car owner is responsible for Hawkins’ death, the dealership will pay the balance of what the Jeep owner owes.  

According to FOX2, a judge has ruled in the case of the Jeep owner vs. the dealership and ruled that the dealership must provide indemnity for the Jeep owner. However, the dealership has said that it is going to appeal that ruling.   

If the Michigan Court of Appeals rules in favor of the dealership and finds that the original indemnity ruling was incorrect, the Jeep owner would be responsible for the financial award to Hawkins’ family, if they win their lawsuit.  

Hawkins’ family filed its lawsuit seeking $15 million. So far, officials said, the insurance company for the Jeep owner has paid the company $100,000. If the appeals court maintains the indemnity ruling, and the family wins the full sum from a jury, the dealership would owe the family the remaining $14.9 million.  

However, some workers’ compensation has been paid to the family. The Michigan Workers’ Disability Compensation Agency has filed a lien on the trial’s outcome. Regardless of who ends up being responsible for the payments, workers’ compensation would be owed back the money it has already paid out.   

Charlie Langton, an attorney and a reporter for FOX2, said the 19-year-old coworker could not be held criminally liable for the accident because it was a mistake.   

"Generally speaking, a criminal act requires some criminal intent. This is an accident - plain and simple," Langton said.  

Court documents indicate the teen said in his deposition that he had never had a license, had never driven a manual transmission, had never taken a driver’s education class, or had had a class on how to drive a manual transmission.   

According to Langton, mistakes aren’t always crimes.   

"Just because there's a bad or tragic result, doesn't mean there's a crime. Mistakes are made," Langton said. "Even if you are negligent, that doesn't mean it's a criminal act. If for some reason it was, a jury must believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the 19-year-old intended to kill him."  

Femminineo said the case is due in court in late May.