Does section 2750.5 of the Workers' Compensation Act grant immunity from liability in a personal injury action at law even if the employer's insurer is not responsible for payment of workers' compensation benefits to the injured employee?

Similar reasoning applies here. While section 2750.5 occasionally may create a dual employment situation in which one employer is granted immunity from a personal injury action at law even though the employer's insurer is not responsible for payment of workers' compensation benefits to the injured employee, this result does not justify judicial rewriting of the section. Contrary to plaintiff's claim, defendant has not received a "windfall" that contravenes the purpose of section 2750.5. Actually, defendant has "paid the price" for immunity: namely, the cost defendant must pay for workers' compensation insurance which will cover benefits to injured employees even without proof that defendant is in any way at fault for the injuries. The fact that the insurer may have received a windfall does not alter defendant's position. Defendant has complied with the workers' compensation system by obtaining coverage; thus, he is entitled to the immunity which follows from such compliance. Even assuming for the purpose of discussion that defendant has obtained a "windfall," this result is not necessarily inconsistent with the statutory scheme. In general, by making the principal contractor a source for workers' compensation benefits if an employee of an unlicensed contractor is injured on the job, the conclusive presumption of section 2750.5 protects workers because there is a great risk that unlicensed subcontractors also will be uninsured. Apparent hardships that the statute may create in individual cases must be disregarded in view of the social desirability of the system as a whole. In fact, "[The purpose of section 3202 calling for a liberal construction of the Workers' Compensation Act] is a liberal construction in favor of awarding workmen's compensation, not in permitting civil litigation. [Citation.]" (Dixon v. Ford Motor Co. (1975) 53 Cal.App.3d 499, 506, 125 Cal.Rptr. 872.)