Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XXI Chapter 152

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 152, § 18

Independent and sub-contractors; liability of insurer and others

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Section 18. If an insured person enters into a contract, written or oral, with an independent contractor to do such person's work, or if such a contractor enters into a contract with a sub-contractor to do all or any part of the work comprised in such contract with the insured, and the insurer would, if such work were executed by employees immediately employed by the insured, be liable to pay compensation under this chapter to those employees, the insurer shall pay to such employees any compensation which would be payable to them under this chapter if the independent or sub-contractors were insured persons. The insurer, however, shall be entitled to recover indemnity from any other person who would have been liable to such employees independently of this section; and if the insurer has paid compensation under this section, it may enforce, in the name of the employee or in its own name and for its benefit, the liability of such other person. The insurer shall also be entitled to recover from the uninsured independent contractor or the uninsured sub-contractor all compensation benefits and expenses, medical, hospital or otherwise, that it has paid or may become obligated to pay on account of any injury to the employee or employees of any such uninsured independent contractor or uninsured sub-contractor; provided, that this provision shall not authorize the insurer to recover from such a contractor or sub-contractor an amount which, together with any sum recovered under this chapter from any other person on account of the payment of compensation to such employee or employees, will exceed in the aggregate the amount of such compensation benefits and expenses. This section shall not apply to any contract of an independent or sub-contractor which is merely ancillary and incidental to, and is no part of or process in, the trade or business carried on by the insured, nor to any case where the injury occurred elsewhere than on, in or about the premises on which the contractor has undertaken to execute the work for the insured or which are under the control or management of the insured. The word ''premises'', as used in this section, shall include the public highways if the contract requires or necessitates the use of the public highways.

In any case where there shall exist with respect to an employee a general employer and a special employer relationship, as between the general employer and the special employer, the liability for the payment of compensation for the injury shall be borne by the general employer or its insurer, and the special employer or its insurer shall be liable for such payment if the parties have so agreed or if the general employer shall not be an insured or insured person under this chapter.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 52 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1922–2025 · leading case: Poirier v. Town of Plymouth
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Poirier v. Town of Plymouth (1978) mass · cites it 4× “" G.L.c. 152, § 18. The crucial question is whether or not the work carried on by the plaintiff was "merely ancillary" to the business carried on by the town water department.”
Wentworth v. HENRY C. BECKER CUSTOM BUILDING LTD. (2011) mass · cites it 4× “” Where an injured worker is an employee of an uninsured subcontractor, the insurance carrier of the general contractor that entered into a contract with that subcontractor is required to *770 pay the workers’ compensation.”
Corbett's Case (1930) mass · cites it 5× “Under this section the claimant is entitled to compensation from the insurer even though the deceased was not in the employ of the Company, provided Mitchell was an independent contractor and the work in which he was engaged was a “part of or process in, the trade or business…”
Afienko v. Harvard Club of Boston (1974) mass · cites it 3× “The club contends that it was entitled to a directed verdict on two different grounds: first, that under the terms of G. L. c. 152, § 18, the plaintiffs exclusive remedy against it was under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, and he is barred by the doctrine of common employment…”
Sellers's Case (2008) mass “443 (1962), the court interpreted a provision in G. L. c. 152, § 18, which limited the liability of workers’ compensation insurers to injuries taking place in or about the contractor’s “premises” when the insured employer had subcontracted its work.”
St. Paul Companies v. TIG Premier Insurance (2003) massappct · cites it 4× “2 See G. L. c. 152, § 18. In response, St. Paul filed a claim denial in which it said, among other things, that TIG had insured Adgreene at the time of the accident and therefore was responsible for any workers’ compensation payments to which Kelly was entitled.”
Ramsey's Case (1977) massappct · cites it 2× “The issue is which of the two insurers is liable as the insurer of Ramsey’s employer, and in that connection whether the last paragraph of G. L. c. 152, § 18, inserted by St. 1969, c.”
Numberg v. GTE Transport, Inc. (1993) massappct · cites it 2× “On the second part of the test, the case is governed by the second paragraph of G. L. c. 152, § 18, as appearing in St. 1969, c.”
Searcy v. Paul (1985) massappct “9 Paul and DLP, under the express language of the 1971 amendments, do not acquire immunity from third-party actions because they are “statutory employers” under G. L. c. 152, § 18. See Locke, Workmen’s Compensation § 662 (2d ed.”
McPadden v. W. J. Halloran Co. (1958) mass · cites it 2× “We hold that, for reasons to be stated, and notwithstanding the jury’s special findings to the contrary, the evidence required the ruling which the trial judge in effect made that the defendant’s work was “part of or process in, the trade or business carried on by the insured”…”
Mobil Oil Corp. v. Roumeliotis (1995) massappct · cites it 3× “This is an appeal by the Mobil Oil Company (Mobil) and its insurer for workers’ compensation, National Union Fire Insurance Company (National), of a decision by the Industrial Accident Reviewing Board (board) ruling that *246 Mobil was liable for workers’ compensation benefits…”
Commonwealth v. Gall (2003) massappct “For example, because contractors are legally responsible for providing workers’ compensation benefits to the employees of an uninsured subcontractor, see G. L. c. 152, § 18, contractors commonly require that their subcontractors provide them with certificates of insurance as…”
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