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Kentucky court overturns $22.5M award in fatal concrete-form collapse - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Kentucky court overturns $22.5M award in fatal concrete-form collapse by Louise Esola Claims Disputes , Workers Comp Coverage Sep 1, 2026 A Kentucky appeals court Friday overturned a judgment of more than $22.5 million against a road contractor stemming from a concrete-form collapse that killed one subcontractor employee and injured three others, ruling that workers compensation exclusivity barred recovery against the contractor. In Scotty’s Contracting and Stone LLC v. Ashley Graves et al. , the Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed the judgment against Scotty’s Contracting and Stone and ordered the trial court to dismiss all claims. In 2011, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet awarded Scotty’s a road construction contract and the company subcontracted with VanMeter Contracting to build retaining walls. A concrete form, or temporary barrier, used by VanMeter employees toppled during a concrete pour in October 2012, killing Kenneth Decker and injuring John McIntosh, Steve Nelson and Jamie Groce. The workers and other claimants received workers compensation benefits through VanMeter’s insurer. They subsequently sued seven state transportation engineers, alleging the engineers failed to inspect the work and shut down the project. The engineers filed indemnity claims against Scotty’s and VanMeter and later assigned those claims to the workers and their families under a consent judgment and forbearance agreement. After a bench trial in which only the workers and their families participated, the trial court awarded $12.6 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages. Scotty’s and VanMeter were barred from presenting evidence or cross-examining witnesses. The appeals court held that Scotty’s qualified as an “up-the-ladder” employer and was therefore protected from additional tort liability under Kentucky’s workers compensation exclusive-remedy provision. The court also ruled that a contractual provision purportedly requiring Scotty’s to indemnify the state engineers for their own negligence was void under a Kentucky law governing construction contracts. Because the engineers had no valid indemnity claim, they had nothing to assign to the workers, the court said. The panel found that the trial court violated Scotty’s due-process rights by preventing it from participating in the damages proceeding. It separately ruled that the trial court erred by denying the contractor’s demand for a jury trial. The appeals court also said the trial court improperly assigned all fault to the state engineers without determining the primary cause of the collapse. 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