A Pennsylvania appeals panel has upheld a $7.3 million jury verdict against Independence Construction Corp. (ICC) in a case involving a worker who was struck by a SEPTA train while on the job. The ruling shuts down the company’s attempt to shield itself under workers’ compensation immunity, cementing the jury’s finding that ICC bore primary responsibility for the life-altering accident.
The 2-1 Superior Court decision affirms a Philadelphia jury’s conclusion that ICC was 70% liable, SEPTA carried 29% of the blame, and worker Jesse Hernandez was only 1% at fault. The ruling stems from a devastating 2018 incident in which Hernandez, digging a trench just four feet from the tracks, was struck by a moving train.
Catastrophic Injuries and Legal Battle
The accident left Hernandez with a traumatic brain injury and multiple other serious wounds. His attorneys argued that ICC maintained a dangerous job site and failed to protect workers from the obvious hazard of trains operating dangerously close to excavation work. SEPTA, meanwhile, settled out of the case during trial after being accused of failing to safely operate its trains near the site.
ICC countered by claiming statutory employer immunity under Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act. Its lawyers insisted Hernandez qualified as its statutory employee because the subcontractor he worked for, Minority Services Inc. (also owned by ICC’s owner, Steven Hare), was performing “excavation” work—an exception under the law.
