A 37-year-old bartender was helping his friend lay pipe for the renovation of a store in a strip mall. Because the work schedules were not properly coordinated, other workers were removing a plaster ceiling as the two men worked below. A large section of the ceiling collapsed, fracturing the man’s ankle. The general contractor claimed that the man was his friend’s “employee”. An employee cannot sue for injuries because of Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation laws. After extensive investigation and several depositions, the case settled.
