§ 39-71-509, MCA

MONTANA SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

State Farm v. Bush Hog, 2009 MT 349, 353 Mont. 173, 219 P.3d 1249 [10/21/09] If an employee elects to bring a damage action against an uninsured employer, the defenses available to the employer are limited to those found in § 39-71-509, MCA, which establishes that any negligence by the employee, or even assumption of the risk by the employee, is not a defense.  Thus, the uninsured employer is either not liable or is 100% liable for the employee’s personal injury or death claim.  This makes application of the comparative negligence statute impossible, since there is no way to apportion responsibility among multiple entities when the employer is 100% responsible.

MONTANA WORKERS' COMPENSATION COURT DECISIONS