Contractor Held Responsible for Injuries Caused by Truck Driven by Sub

Asphalt and Concrete Services, Inc. (“Asphalt”) contracted with owner operators of trucks to haul materials on its behalf. Asphalt thought it was contracting with an LLC when it contracted with Higher Power, LLC. As it turns out the LLC was not properly registered. Higher Power’s driver also did not have insurance. Higher Power’s truck hit a pedestrian and the pedestrian sued Asphalt. Asphalt claimed that it was not responsible for the actions of Higher Power’s driver because he was an independent contractor. A jury found that Asphalt was responsible and their verdict was recently upheld by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.