Opinion ID: 1894152
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Was the Absence of a Barrier Guard an Obvious Defect?

Text: The law in Alabama regarding the liability of contractors who carry out construction projects based upon the plans and specifications of the owner was recognized in McFadden v. Ten-T Corp., 529 So.2d 192, 200-01 (Ala.1988): `An independent contractor owes no duty to third persons to judge the plans, specifications or instructions which he has merely contracted to follow. If the contractor carefully carries out the specifications provided him, he is justified in relying upon the adequacy of the specifications unless they are so obviously dangerous that no competent contractor would follow them.' 529 So.2d at 200, quoting Hunt v. Blasius, 74 Ill.2d 203, 209, 384 N.E.2d 368, 371, 23 Ill.Dec. 574, 577 (1979). Based upon the rule recognized in McFadden, an independent contractor is not free to comply with obviously defective plans and specifications that the contractor should know may create unreasonably dangerous conditions. Rather, a contractor is expected to act reasonably under the particular circumstances in order to avoid accidents. Aldridge v. Valley Steel Constr., Inc., 603 So.2d 981, 984 (Ala.1992). Thus, the mere fact that GB & B followed the plans and specifications supplied by Reynolds does not, in and of itself, shield GB & B from liability if GB & B should have been aware that complying with those plans and specifications would create an unreasonably dangerous condition. Hannah submitted expert testimony through the deposition testimony and affidavits of Dr. Ryan and Scott Wells. Dr. Ryan was a mechanical engineer, professionally licensed in 11 states, with significant experience in designing and building complex industrial machinery. Dr. Ryan testified that in forming his opinions in this case, he relied upon his personal inspection of the accident site, photographs of the accident site, the original blueprints for the belt wrapper in its overwind configuration, a summary of Carlos Gregg's deposition, Roy Gieske's affidavit, an OSHA report, the Reynolds accident report, and a number of depositions, including the depositions of Eric Blackstock and Thomas Thornton, Reynolds engineers; Les Rice, an engineer with McKay Corporation; and John Montoro, a Westinghouse engineer. In his deposition testimony, Dr. Ryan stated that the absence of a barrier guard at the area between the belt wrapper and the recoiler [was] a defect that should have been obvious to an experienced general contractor like [GB & B], who had been doing jobs like this at Reynolds for many years, especially given the fact that OSHA and its safety standards had been in effect for over 20 years by this time. Dr. Ryan further testified: Carlos Gregg, the principal of [GB & B], is a professional engineer. As such, he has a special, sworn duty to uphold the safety and well being of the public. He should have readily seen ... the absence of a barrier guard at the area between the belt wrapper and the recoiler, recognized it for the defect it is and [called] that defect to Reynolds's attention. In addition to Dr. Ryan's deposition testimony, Hannah submitted two affidavits one dated June 21, 2001, and one dated July 27, 2001in which Dr. Ryan opined that GB & B should have been on notice of the hazard of failing to include a barrier guard between the belt wrapper and the recoiler. In his June 21, 2001, affidavit Dr. Ryan stated: The absence of a barrier guard was an obvious defect in the plans developed for the `conversion to overwind' project, given the fact that OSHA had, since the early 1970's, mandated the use of barrier guards in situations like this.... A competent contractor should have seen that the absence of a barrier guard and the absence of a lockout/tagout device posed a serious hazard at the point created by the belt wrapper and the recoiler and should have warned Reynolds of the problem. Most of the industrial general contractors that I have dealt with in my years of experience in this field would have noted the missing barrier guard and missing lockout/tagout device in this case and, at a bare minimum, would have alerted Reynolds in writing of the problem. Many times I have seen situations like this arise and the general contractor would simply assume that the owner and/or designer intended for safeguarding to be installed and would include adequate safeguarding measure[s] in their bid and their work on the project as a matter of course. [GB & B's] failure to at least notify Reynolds of the problem simply falls below the level of care most industrial contractors would give to such a situation. In his July 27, 2001, affidavit, Dr. Ryan stated: Just yesterday, I learned that I had overlooked ANSI B11.18, which specifically applies to coil processing machinery including the recoiler and belt wrapper that caused Jerry Hannah's death.... This standard, promulgated by the American National Standards Institute in May of 1985, requires a `rebuilder' of this kind of machinery, like [GB & B], to see to it that it is effectively safeguarded. (ANSI B11.18, 1.2.4, p. 9; 6.1, p. 26.) In particular, this standard requires barrier guards or other effective means of guarding at hazardous areas such as pinch points like the area between the recoiler and belt wrapper where Jerry Hannah was crushed and killed.... ANSI B11.18 had been in force for over a decade when [GB & B] rebuilt the recoiler and belt wrapper in May of 1996, just weeks before Jerry Hannah was killed. They should have realized, as a competent contractor and rebuilder, that the belt wrapper and recoiler posed an extremely hazardous pinch point and that the absence of a barrier guard or other effective safeguards was an obvious defect in the plans. [GB & B's] failure to, at least, notify Reynolds of the problem violated the duty imposed by ANSI B11.18. It ... also falls far short of what most industrial contractors would do in a situation like this. In addition to the deposition testimony and affidavits of Dr. Ryan, Hannah also relied upon the deposition testimony of Scott Wells, a certified safety professional employed by Reynolds. Wells did not testify that the absence of a barrier guard was an obvious defect that GB & B should have recognized. However, Wells did testify that when an contractor performs a job, the contractor should try to ensure that when the contractor leaves, the project will be in a safe condition. According to Wells, a contractor does this by following all OSHA regulations, other current regulations, and the national code of ethics for professional engineers. [3] Wells testified that if a contractor observed anything it believed was deficient, that contractor should have brought it to the attention of Reynolds. According to Wells, [a]nytime you are aware of a pinch point or crush point you should correct it. Wells testified that the area between the belt wrapper and the recoiler was an obvious pinch point and that, in his opinion, the area did not meet OSHA standards. Wells testified that he was not stating that GB & B was aware of the need for a barrier guard in that area; he was saying, however, that if it was, it should have brought that need to Reynolds's attention. If admissible, Dr. Ryan's deposition testimony and affidavits, coupled with the deposition testimony of Scott Wells, would be sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the absence of a barrier guard between the belt wrapper and the recoiler was an obvious defect that GB & B should have recognized and remedied.