Tag Archives: City of Lincoln

Improvements in workplace safety in Lincoln due to some side-street snow plowing?

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Lincoln has been hit with an unusual amount of snow over the last two weeks. Last year, many Lincoln residents would have been stranded at home due to the lack of snow removal on side streets.

But the City of Lincoln announced in November that was partially reversing an 11 year-old city policy of not plowing side streets. The City announced a pilot program to remove snow on some side streets if accumulation topped four inches. The move comes after public outcry last winter about icy conditions in Lincoln’s residential neighborhoods.

Ice, snow, worker classification and slip and falls

Last winter, I blogged about how icy side streets were a workplace hazard for delivery drivers. In my view the risks to delivery drivers has increased since last winter as the COVID pandemic accelerated the rise of online shopping.

Icy streets and sidewalks also create additional legal risks as more delivery workers are misclassified as contractors rather than employees. Employees are covered by workers’ compensation for work injuries, contractors are not. Bluntly, Nebraska courts have tended to side with business in recent decisions about worker classification and workers compensation.

But even if a worker is legally barred from bringing a workers’ compensation claim for a slip and fall injury due to snow and ice, premises owners can be sued if their failure to reasonably remove snow and ice causes on injury. Property owners need to be diligent about removing snow and ice. A worker covered by workers’ compensation can bring a third-party claim if another party besides them or their employer is at fault for their injury.

Doing the right thing despite sovereign immunity

Private individuals and corporations can be sued for failing to remove snow, not so much with local governments. I am somewhat surprised the City of Lincoln changed course, because the City is basically immune from being sued for snow removal. The City is protected by sovereign immunity in general and a specific law immunizing local governments from liability for snow removal in particular. So why did the City of Lincoln, partially “walk back” a fairly long standing policy? I have a few ideas.

One icy side streets create a risk of injury for city employees like police and firefighters. Not only is there a risk of bodily injury, the City would also have to pay for damage to city vehicles. It may make financial sense for the city to plow side streets. Lincoln Mayor is Leirion Gaylor Baird is a Yale-educated, veteran of the elite consultancy McKinsey and Company. In short, she is a wonk. I take the City at their word that they engaging in what amounts to experiment.

But the City could also be responding to popular outcry about icy residential streets. Hey, we live in a little “d” democracy and governments are supposed to respond to popular pressure. I also think it could make sense from a dollars and sense perspective. But I do wonder if residential snow removal is sustainable from a budget standpoint. The City stopped doing residential snow removal in 2009. 2009 was during the so-called “Great Recession.” Lincoln is now suffering through the COVID-19 recession. So even if residential snow plowing could make sense financially and improve occupational safety, there may be pressure to cut the City budget in other places or to cut taxes to pay for additional services.

Lincoln is a prosperous city and I think the choice between clearing snow and ice from side streets and other city services is a false choice, but historically Lincoln city government has been reluctant to raise taxes to pay for additional city services

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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The hidden legal hazards of icy side streets

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Icy residential streets in Lincoln caused problems last week for commuters and workers alike. (Photo via Google Images and 1011now.com)

I usually flip through the FM dial on my drive into work in the morning. Last Tuesday, I flipped to Lincoln Top 40 mainstay, KFRX, and heard a delivery driver talk about the hazards he encountered on Lincoln’s icy side streets.

Icy side streets, plagued Lincoln from Air Park to Vintage Heights until last Wednesday. But this hazard can create other kinds of hazards for workers who are forced to navigate slick side streets.

While icy residential streets may seem like a preventable hazard, the law gives cities like Lincoln little incentive to clear side streets.

Hidden hazards of slick streets for delivery drivers

When the roads are bad and weather conditions are cold, most people don’t like leaving the house. With the advent of online shopping and food delivery apps, consumers can order food, shop online, and stay inside.

But someone needs to deliver what is ordered online. Those delivery drivers who bring those goods are at an increased risk of injury and property damage due to icy side streets.

Assuming a delivery driver is an employee, injuries from icy roads incurred in the course and scope of employment should be covered by workers’ compensation.

But many delivery drivers are classified as independent contractors. Most if not all, delivery people, should be employees for the sake of workers’ compensation. But workers don’t always know their rights and often intimidated by employers. As a result, misclassified delivery drivers may end being stuck with the costs of their own work injury.

Third party claims for icy driveways and sidewalks, but not icy streets

If the injury is the fault of someone else, an independent contractor can bring a negligence claim. Even a worker covered by workers’ compensation claim can bring a so-called third-party claim if another party besides them or their employer is at fault for their injury.

But not all negligence related to icy conditions is legally actionable. Yes, a delivery driver can sue a homeowner who doesn’t remove snow for negligence. But thanks to sovereign immunity, it’s difficult if not almost impossible to sue a city for not clearing icy side streets.

Kings don’t need to plow their subjects side streets

Sovereign immunity is a legal fiction borrowed from English law that you can’t sue the king for his wrongs. The Declaration of Independence, George Washington, the Battle of Yorktown and all that other good stuff aside, American governments decided to adopt this British doctrine. (After all, it’s good to be king)

In Nebraska, the Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act (PSTCA) dictates how and for what conduct political subdivisions can be sued. Political subdivisions, like cities, can’t be sued for decisions made by policy makers. These functions are called discretionary functions. Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Director Tom Casady, a former Lincoln police chief and longtime city hall fixture, used exactly that language in explaining (or excusing) why the City of Lincoln waited until Wednesday to plow side streets.

In addition, just for belt and suspenders to use a legal term, political subdivisions can’t be sued about snow and ice removals on public roads.

Strong-mayor systems and sovereign immunity

Lincoln (and Omaha) are governed under so-called strong mayor systems which means appointed officials within the executive branch are given broad leeway to make policy decisions. This probably gives Lincoln officials another layer of legal protection against litigation over poor street conditions.

Solutions for slick side streets?

A combination of warmer weather, more snow and probably some public outcry lead Lincoln to plow side streets. A more long-term solution for slick side streets in Lincoln could lie with the City Council voting more money for snow and ice removal. The Legislature could also modify the PSTCA to allow cities to be sued over snow removal. Either scenario seems unlikely at present.

Ultimately residents could band together to clear side streets on their own through homeowners and neighborhood associations. I don’t like that option in the long run or big picture because it would tend to favor wealthier neighborhoods and would undermine confidence in government in general and city government in particular.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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