The Texas Supreme Court's unusual review of its own controversial workers' compensation ruling ended Friday with the court concluding that it was correct the first time.
The court ruled 9-0 in August 2007 in favor of Entergy Gulf States that the New Orleans-based company was a "general contractor" because it provided workers' compensation coverage to employees of a subcontractor.
That designation protected Entergy from a lawsuit by an employee of the subcontractor who was hurt on Entergy premises. Under state law, workers can't sue if they're getting workers' compensation benefits.
The ruling in Entergy vs. Summers upset labor advocates, who argued that the decision stripped rights from injured workers. John Summers sued after hurting himself working on a turbine at an Entergy plant.
A rare rehearing of the case in October at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law attracted more attention from consumer advocates who believe that the Texas Supreme Court has shown unnecessary activism generally favoring businesses. Court backers said that the Entergy case involved a simple question of language and that no deeper meaning should be read into the ruling.
The court affirmed its initial decision, 6-3. The ruling states that when a premises owner extends coverage to a contractor's employees, it gains the protections of a general contractor.
