Section 440.11 Florida Statutes

Under Section 440.11, Florida Statutes (1995), an owner of a dangerous instrumentality enjoys the same limited liability or immunity from a tort action as the employer of an employee injured by the instrumentality where it is leased to, and under the control of, the employer. In Halifax Paving, Inc. v. Scott & Jobalia Const., Inc., 565 So. 2d 1346 (Fla. 1990), an employee of Scott & Jobalia ("S & J"), was injured when a pipe fell from a sling attached to a crane that had been borrowed from Halifax. The employee collected workers' compensation benefits from S & J and then sued Halifax as the owner of the crane. Halifax settled with S & J's employee and sought indemnity from S & J. The supreme court found that the workers' compensation benefits were the exclusive remedy of the injured employee because the leased or borrowed equipment was in the exclusive control of the employer and the owner of the equipment did not in any logical sense contribute to the injury. The injury "was a work-place injury occurring as a result of a dangerous instrumentality in the control of the employer."