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Jennings v. St. Vincent Hospital and Health Care Center8/17/2005
FOR PUBLICATION
Today, we are confronted with a seemingly unresolvable case. We take this opportunity, however, to point out a deficiency in our current system of worker 's compensation . Hence, we begin our discussion with the following:
Because when the world starts to move from a primarily vertical (command and control) value-creation model to an increasingly horizontal (connect and collaborate) creation model, it doesn't affect just how business gets done. It affects everything-how communities and companies define themselves, where companies and communities stop and start, how individuals balance their different identities as consumers, employees, shareholders, and citizens, and what role government has to play. All of this is going to have to be sorted out anew.
Friedman, Thomas L., The World is Flat-A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century 201 (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2005).
Appellant-defendant James D. Jennings appeals the trial court's order to dismiss his claim for negligence against appellee-defendant St. Vincent Hospital and Health Care Center, Inc. (St. Vincent). In particular, Jennings contends that the trial court erred in determining that Jennings was a co-employee of St. Vincent and StarMed Staffing Corporation (StarMed), consequently making him eligible for StarMed's worker 's compensation but barring him from raising a civil claim for monetary damages against St. Vincent. Thus, Jennings argues that the trial court erred in determining that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over his negligence claim against St. Vincent.
Although we conclude that the seven-factor analysis our Supreme Court established in Hale v. Kemp, 579 N.E.2d 63 (Ind. 1991), supports the trial court's conclusion, we invite our General Assembly to review our current system of worker 's compensation in light of the circumstances presented here.
FACTS
Jennings is a registered nurse specializing in emergency room work since 1996. In 1999, he began employment with StarMed, located in Indianapolis, which made temporary assignments at hospitals and emergency rooms throughout the country.
StarMed entered into a Standard Form Staffing Agreement (Agreement) with St. Vincent in 1992. Pursuant to the Agreement, StarMed was to provide St. Vincent with registered nurse employees for temporary nurse staffing. Jennings was assigned to work in St. Vincent's emergency room under the terms of the Agreement for a thirteen-week period from December 11, 1999, to March 9, 2000. As for each assignment, Jennings executed a Candidate Assignment Agreement with StarMed, but he did not enter into any written employment agreement with St. Vincent. Moreover, he did not complete an employment application with St. Vincent.
Each nurse referred to St. Vincent under the Agreement had to meet St. Vincent's specifications. St. Vincent had the opportunity to conduct a telephonic interview with nurses who are referred to the hospital prior to the beginning of the assignment. Accordingly, Toni L. Herron, a registered nurse employed by St. Vincent, interviewed Jennings by telephone and approved his assignment. St. Vincent also reserved the right to dismiss, at its discretion, a nurse who performs the assignment in an "unsatisfactory manner." Appellant's App. p. 115.
The Agreement and the Candidate Assignment Agreement provided that StarMed was responsible for compensating the nurses referred to St. Vincent, "including payment of wages, tax withholdings, workers compensation, social security, any and all benefits related to employment, and other obligations imposed by federal, state, and local law." Appellant's App. p. 117. The pay
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