Opinion ID: 852780
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Liability for Intrinsically Dangerous Activities

Text: We also agree with PSI that recovery under the inherently dangerous exception was not supported by the evidence. The jury was instructed that: the law imposes a duty on a landowner [3] if the work to be performed is intrinsically dangerous. Work is intrinsically dangerous if the danger exists in the doing of the activity regardless of the method used. The work is intrinsically dangerous if the risk of injury cannot be eliminated or significantly reduced by taking proper precautions. Roberts argues that when he worked at PSI, he performed intrinsically dangerous work that is not delegable to an independent contractor. PSI does not challenge this instruction as an accurate statement of the law. Rather, PSI contends the evidence does not support the verdict. For the reasons given in Part D below, Roberts is not estopped from arguing that working with asbestos was intrinsically dangerous despite his simultaneous contention that PSI is liable for failure of ACandS to take due precautions to avoid the injury. We conclude, however, that the evidence does not support recovery on this theory. The term `inherently or intrinsically dangerous' has been defined as work necessarily attended with danger, no matter how skillfully or carefully it is performed. 41 Am.Jur.2d Independent Contractors § 54 (1995); see Shell Oil Co. v. Meyer, 705 N.E.2d 962, 978 (Ind.1998) (work is intrinsically dangerous if the danger exists in the doing of the activity regardless of the method used). Unlike the other four exceptions to the nonliability of the principal, the inherently dangerous exception is normally associated with strict liability and does not require negligence on the part of the contractor. Dobbs, supra § 337, at 921. It imposes liability for activities that are dangerous by nature, not merely because they are carried out in a risky manner. For example, if the enterprise hires an independent contractor to dust crops with poison, it is liable for damage to neighbors' crops without regard to negligence. Id. Roberts asserts that asbestos itself is intrinsically dangerous and any work that causes inherently dangerous fibers to enter the breathing space of humans is intrinsically dangerous work. He points to Covalt v. Carey Canada, Inc., 543 N.E.2d 382 (Ind.1989), in which this Court described asbestos fibers as an inherently dangerous substance ... a toxic foreign substance ... an inherently dangerous product ... and a hazardous foreign substance. Id. at 384-86. Roberts asserts that there is nothing that can make asbestos fibers safe. PSI responds that although asbestos may be an inherently dangerous substance, it does not follow that working with material containing asbestos is intrinsically dangerous work. PSI asserts that the evidence at trial demonstrates that the dangers of working with asbestos could have been minimized if Roberts had taken proper precautions. Roberts himself asserted liability based on the failure to use due precautions exception discussed in Part I.C. This assumes that injury can be significantly reduced and, as PSI points out, is inconsistent with the claim that the work is inherently dangerous. Dr. Michael Ellenbecker, an industrial hygiene expert called by Roberts, testified to the methods available at the time Roberts was exposed to asbestos that could have been employed to reduce his exposure. He described the possibility of substituting other insulation materials for asbestos, the practice of isolating the asbestos fibers, and other control and prevention measures. Dr. Ellenbecker testified it's possible to perform an installation where the hazards are minimized, but when we're talking about mesothelioma, I think it's difficult to do any activities with asbestos where you completely eliminate the hazard. Roberts argues that this testimony shows that performing asbestos work is an intrinsically dangerous activity because mesothelioma can be caused by very small exposures to asbestos. He reasons that because asbestos-related diseases are often terminal and can be caused by very small exposures, it follows that working with asbestos is intrinsically dangerous. We agree that working with asbestos can be perilous, but that is not enough to render it intrinsically dangerous as that term is used to establish liability for actions of an independent contractor. For example in McDaniel v. Business Investment Group, Ltd., 709 N.E.2d 17 (Ind. Ct.App.1999) trans. denied, an employee working on a sewer line in a 9 foot deep trench was killed when the sides of the trench caved in. The Indiana Court of Appeals held that trenching is not intrinsically dangerous work because although it can be dangerous, the use of proper procedures... renders the work relatively safe. Id. at 21. Roberts asserts that whether the danger from asbestos work could have been significantly reduced is itself a question of fact for the jury. If proper precautions can minimize the risk of injury, then the activity is not intrinsically dangerous. See Carie v. PSI Energy, Inc., 694 N.E.2d 729, 735 (Ind.Ct.App. 1998), affirmed in part and vacated in part by, Carie v. PSI Energy, Inc., 715 N.E.2d 853 (Ind.1999) (quoting Denneau v. Ind. & Mich. Elec. Co., 150 Ind.App. 615, 620, 277 N.E.2d 8, 12 (1971)). Here, it seems agreed by all that precautions could have minimized Roberts's exposure to asbestos. Indeed, as explained below, this was the premise of one of Roberts's principal theories of liability. Therefore, we conclude that working with asbestos is not intrinsically dangerous such that anyone hiring a contractor to address it incurs strict liability for injuries sustained from exposure to it. For this second and independent reason, Roberts's claim fails under the independent contractor liability theory. We also recognize, as the dissent points out, that the consequences of mesothelioma can be horrific. But that does not render asbestos intrinsically dangerous. The same is true of electricity and a number of other substances that, if mishandled, can be dangerous.