Opinion ID: 1260556
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Appeal of Associated From Judgment in Favor of Plaintiffs

Text: Plaintiffs alleged that Associated had violated two safety orders, one requiring adequate illumination in the building, and another relating to the guarding of openings in the floor. The trial court instructed that violation of either of these orders by Associated would constitute negligence. [5] Associated claims, first, that it was not a statutory employer under the provisions of the Labor Code which relate to safety in employment, [6] that it was under no duty to provide plaintiffs with a safe place to work, and that to impose such a duty upon a general contractor under the circumstances of this case would deprive it of equal protection of the laws. Section 6304 of the Labor Code provides that an employer is one who has management, control, or custody of any ... place of employment.... (8) It is settled that if a general contractor not only exercises general supervision over a job in order to achieve its satisfactory completion but also controls the premises or the instrumentality causing the injury, he is an employer within the meaning of this section. ( Souza v. Pratico (1966) 245 Cal. App.2d 651, 657 [54 Cal. Rptr. 159]; Conner v. Utah Constr. & Mining Co. (1964) 231 Cal. App.2d 263, 271 [41 Cal. Rptr. 728].) Here, the premises were under the control of Associated, which assertedly failed to provide sufficient illumination for safety and negligently left an unguarded hole in the floor. The cases relied upon by Associated in support of its claim that it had no duty toward plaintiffs under the Labor Code did not involve situations in which the injury resulted from a dangerous condition of the premises controlled by the general contractor. Rather, the plaintiffs in those cases were injured solely as the result of a defective appliance supplied by their direct employer ( McDonald v. Shell Oil Co. (1955) 44 Cal.2d 785, 788-791 [285 P.2d 902]; Hard v. Hollywood Turf Club (1952) 112 Cal. App.2d 263, 275 [246 P.2d 716]) or a dangerous method of work adopted by the direct employer or another subcontractor ( Kuntz v. Del E. Webb Constr. Co. (1961) 57 Cal.2d 100, 106-107 [18 Cal. Rptr. 527, 368 P.2d 127]; Freire v. Imperial Irrigation Dist. (1967) 254 Cal. App.2d 380, 382 [61 Cal. Rptr. 925]). (9) Associated's position that it would be denied equal protection of the laws if it were held to be a statutory employer under the provisions of the Labor Code is without merit. The argument appears to be that since both Associated and Aaron are employers as defined in section 6304 they should be treated alike with regard to their potential liability, but Aaron's liability is limited to workmen's compensation benefits, whereas Associated's liability is not so limited. Clearly, however, both Associated and Aaron are in the same position vis-a-vis their direct employees (i.e., they are liable without regard to negligence but the amount of their liability is limited by the provisions of the workmen's compensation law) and they are also in the same position with regard to those who are not their direct employees but are statutory employees under section 6300 et seq. of the Labor Code (no liability without negligence and no statutory limitation as to the amount of liability). We perceive no constitutional infirmity in this rational scheme. (10) Since Associated is deemed an employer for the purposes of section 6300 et seq. of the Labor Code, it is liable to plaintiffs as a matter of law if it violated safety orders regarding proper illumination and the safeguarding of openings and if such violations proximately caused the accident which led to plaintiffs' injuries. ( Alber v. Owens, supra, 66 Cal.2d 790, 794.) (11) Associated asserts, however, that the evidence was insufficient to establish that it violated either safety order. We do not agree. Safety order 3242 (now 1520) provides in part, Working areas ... shall be provided with either natural or artificial illumination which is adequate and suitable to secure the safety of employees. There was no artificial illumination in the building, although there were apertures in the walls which admitted limited daylight. The accident occurred during the morning hours. There was sufficient evidence from which the jury could have inferred that the lighting was inadequate. Saetelle's daughter took photographs of the scene a few hours after the accident, and these were introduced into evidence. In addition, Smith testified that one could not see as well inside the building where the accident occurred as in the courtroom, but that the light was fine from coming in outside. In view of this evidence the jury was not compelled to find as a matter of law that the building was adequately lighted to secure the safety of plaintiffs. (12) The evidence was thoroughly adequate to support the conclusion that Associated had violated safety order 1620 (now 1632) which provides, All planks, railings, or barriers guarding floor ... openings shall be left in place until further construction provides permanent protection or an effective hazard control. Work shall be arranged so that openings are left unprotected for the least time possible during the transition from temporary to permanent safeguards. Clearly, Associated violated the first sentence of this order when it failed to guard the hole in the floor by leaving a plank or other barrier in place. It is claimed, however, that Associated's conduct can be brought within the second sentence, which permits the opening to be left unguarded for the least time possible during the transition from temporary to permanent safeguards. There is no evidence that Associated was engaged at the time of the accident in making the transition from temporary to permanent safeguards. Nor is there any merit to Associated's claim that plaintiffs failed to show that the hole had been unguarded for more that the least time possible. There was testimony that the hole had never been covered, although other witnesses stated that there was a plywood cover which was not secured by cleats so that it would fall off if anything came in contact with it. Both plaintiffs testified that they had not been warned about the hole in the floor prior to the accident. (13) Associated next maintains that even if it could be found that the safety orders had been violated, such violations could not have been the proximate cause of the accident because, it claims, the evidence compels the conclusion that plaintiffs were guilty of contributory negligence. The only conduct of plaintiffs which could support a claim of contributory negligence was testimony that they were deliberately moving the scaffold from above when the accident occurred. However, there was a sharp conflict in the evidence on this issue. Plaintiffs denied such conduct, and under well-settled rules on appeal we must presume in support of the judgment that the jury accepted their testimony as true. The only other way in which the accident could have occurred was if the scaffold prior to capsizing had rolled into the hole unaided, accidentally propelled by the activity of the men working on it. Contrary to the claim of Associated, sufficient evidence supports this explanation for the accident. There was testimony that the sway of the scaffold caused by men working on it could cause the wheels to roll if not locked, and as we have seen, Metzger did not apply the locks when he left the scaffold. If rolling occurred in this manner and if plaintiffs were working on the floor of the scaffold they would not have noticed the motion. On the day of the accident the scaffold was being moved 10 feet at a time, in a northerly direction. Plaintiffs' work lay north of the precise site of the accident and there was no task for them to perform east of the scaffold. There was, therefore, no reason for them to deliberately propel themselves in the direction of the hole, which lay approximately six feet east of the scaffold. Although Metzger offered his opinion the scaffold could not move unaided toward the hole but must have been pushed or pulled, the jury was not compelled to accept this theory in view of evidence to the contrary. In the light of these factors, there is no merit in Associated's claim that plaintiffs were negligent as a matter of law because they deliberately propelled the scaffold from above just prior to the accident. [7] (14) But, it is argued if the accident occurred because of the spontaneous rolling of the scaffold, any failure by Associated to provide sufficient illumination could not as a matter of law be the proximate cause of the accident. We find this argument unpersuasive. The jury could have found that plaintiffs were not aware of the hole in the floor, that if Associated had provided adequate lighting they would have seen the hole sometime during the week they worked on the scaffold prior to the accident, and would have either cautioned Metzger to lock the wheels each time he left the scaffold or refrained from moving precipitously on the scaffold so as to avoid causing the wheels to roll. In any event, the jury was adequately instructed on the issue of proximate cause, and we must assume that it followed the court's instructions on this issue. [8] (15) Associated also asserts that the hole in the floor was not a proximate cause of the accident but this contention is based upon its misconception that an accident can have only one proximate cause. It may be, as Associated claims, that the scaffold would not have toppled if the wheels had been locked or if the scaffold had been properly constructed, but these factors would not eliminate as a proximate cause Associated's negligence in failing to provide barricades around the hole. The jury was correctly instructed that the acts or omissions of two or more persons may operate concurrently as the efficient cause of an injury, and that in such a case each act or omission is regarded as a proximate cause. [9] Finally, Associated claims that the trial court erred in two rulings on the admissibility of evidence. Again, we find no error in the court's rulings. The first ruling concerns the rehabilitation of the testimony of the witness Bernard Mertes. He was a carpenter working in the building and saw the scaffold topple. Mertes did not testify at the trial but his deposition was read to the jury. In the deposition he first denied that he saw plaintiffs moving the scaffold from above, but thereafter stated he supposed a prior statement he had given in which he had said that plaintiffs had indeed conducted themselves in this manner was correct. Later in the deposition he said that he wasn't sure whether the scaffolding was in motion just prior to the accident. (16) Associated attempted to rehabilitate Mertes' testimony by reading into the record a statement given by another workman that a third person had told him (at some unspecified time) that a carpenter (not otherwise identified) had seen plaintiffs moving the scaffold along by pulling on the beam just before the accident. Although Associated claims that this hearsay on hearsay is admissible as a prior consistent statement under sections 791 and 1236 of the Evidence Code, it is evident from a reading of those sections, fully set forth in the margin, that a prior consistent statement so remotely connected with the testimony sought to be rehabilitated may be rejected. [10] (17) Associated claims that the trial court also erred in refusing to permit it to examine the report of a safety engineer, employed by the Department of Industrial Safety, who investigated the accident the day after it occurred. An examination of the record, however, indicates there was no objection to the court's ruling that the report was confidential and could not be examined by counsel. [11]