Employee an Insured Under CGL Form?

Q

Our insured is a high rise residential condominium association and is covered by a commercial general liability coverage form. A question has arisen concerning the actions of an employee and whether the CGL form will properly protect the insured. Consider this scenario: a guest of a unit owner falls in the lobby of the building. An employee of the association, acting as a good Samaritan, tries to render assistance to the injured party. But, the attempted assistance results in aggravating the injury or in some other injuries.

The named insured is not in the business of providing emergency medical care and the building is not an assisted living facility. Does the CGL form provide coverage for the insured and the employee for legal liabilities due to such a situation?

Florida Subscriber

A

The association as the named insured on the CGL form would have liability coverage if it is found liable for the injuries to the guest. There is no exclusion on the CGL form that would exclude coverage for the named insured for this claim which is basically a premises claim. As for the employee, that is a problem. The employee is an insured only for acts within the scope of employment or while performing duties related to the conduct of the named insured's business. The way you describe the claim, it does not seem that the employee was acting within the scope of his duties. If the employee was told to assist guests in need or was hired with the knowledge that one of his duties was to perform first aid when necessary, that could bring his actions within the scope of employment. Other than that, the employee will not be considered an insured and will not have coverage under the named insured's CGL form.

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