Opinion ID: 1233143
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Specific Unsafe Working Conditions

Text: The first requirement involved is that a specific unsafe working condition presenting a high degree of risk and strong probability of harm or serious injury to the employee must have existed in the workplace. W.Va.Code § 23-4-2(c)(2)(ii)(A). The specific unsafe working condition alleged was the manner in which hot grease was disposed. The appellee's evidence indicated that the disposal was performed by carrying hot [12] grease in a five-gallon open container down a grassy slope in order to discard the material in fifty-five-gallon drums. Particularly, the appellee's expert testified that the grassy slope had a seven or eight foot drop covering approximately thirty-two to thirty-four feet in elevation and that transportation of hot grease over this path in a container with no lid presented a high degree of risk to employees charged with grease disposal. He further testified that this condition presented a strong probability of serious injury to the employee.