A commercial insurer is in federal court trying to escape any duty to defend or pay on a worker's trailer injury claim against its insured.
Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association Insurance Company filed a declaratory judgment complaint on May 27, 2026, in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. It is suing its own insured, 4 Way Logistics, LLC, along with the injured worker, Maksim Pliskou. PMAIC wants the court to declare that its commercial general liability policy does not cover Pliskou's underlying suit, pending in Cook County state court.
According to the complaint, Pliskou says he was hurt on November 23, 2024, while inspecting, repairing, or removing damaged loader bars inside a trailer 4 Way Logistics had rented from TForce Freight, Inc. The filing says one of the damaged loader bars fell on his head, "causing serious and permanent injuries." Pliskou is seeking damages in excess of $75,000 against 4 Way Logistics on a negligence theory.
PMAIC is running four arguments at once.
The first is the policy's auto exclusion. The CGL policy, in force from June 7, 2024, to June 7, 2025, excludes bodily injury "arising out of the ownership, maintenance, use or entrustment to others of any aircraft, 'auto' or watercraft" that is "rented or loaned to any insured." The policy defines "auto" to include "a land motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer designed for travel on public roads, including any attached machinery or equipment." PMAIC says a rented tractor-trailer fits that definition, and that the injury arose out of its maintenance and use.
The second is late notice. The injuries occurred on or about November 23, 2024, but PMAIC says it did not learn of them from any source until on or about January 9, 2026 - more than 13 months later. The policy requires notice "as soon as practicable." PMAIC calls the delay a material breach.
The third and fourth are about employment. PMAIC argues that, on Pliskou's own pleading - that 4 Way Logistics directed him to drive the tractor-trailer and told him to inspect, repair, or remove the damaged loader bars - he "qualifies as an employee acting in the course and scope of his employment with 4 Way Logistics." That, PMAIC says, triggers the policy's workers' compensation exclusion and its employer's liability exclusion. The complaint also flags that the underlying lawsuit alleges 4 Way Logistics "chose not to and did not have or obtain valid worker's compensation insurance for Pliskou," while at the same time alleging Pliskou was not an employee.
The procedural backstory is messy. Pliskou filed the underlying suit on November 18, 2025. Co-defendant Thai Summit Kentucky Corporation removed it to federal court on December 22, 2025. The state court dismissed it for want of prosecution on January 14, 2026, when Pliskou did not appear. The federal court remanded the case on March 23, 2026. A motion to reinstate sat on the state court calendar on May 20, 2026, just days before PMAIC opened this coverage front.
For claims professionals in the trucking and logistics space, the takeaway is the stack. A single workplace injury here triggers an auto exclusion question, two employment-related exclusions, and a notice condition - all in one file. And as so often in CGL trucking disputes, the worker-classification question is doing the heaviest lifting.
These are allegations in a declaratory judgment complaint. They have not been tested in court. 4 Way Logistics and Pliskou have not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled on PMAIC's coverage position.
