Opinion ID: 1603125
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Extrahazardous Activity

Text: ¶ 32 A second exception renders an otherwise protected principal employer liable for injuries sustained by an independent contractor's employee. A principal employer may be liable for injuries sustained by an independent contractor's employee while he or she is engaged in an extrahazardous activity. Wagner, 143 Wis.2d at 401, 421 N.W.2d 835; see also Estate of Thompson, 225 Wis.2d at 595-96, 593 N.W.2d 901. An extrahazardous activity [19] is one in which the risk of harm remains unreasonably high no matter how carefully it is undertaken. Wagner, 143 Wis.2d at 392, 421 N.W.2d 835. An activity that is extrahazardous is contrasted with one that is inherently dangerous because of the absence of special precautions. Id. at 393, 421 N.W.2d 835. An employee engaged in an inherently dangerous activity can take steps to minimize the risk of injury. Id. at 392, 421 N.W.2d 835. In Wagner , this court expressly declined to recognize a cause of action by an independent contractor's employee against a principal employer for injuries sustained while engaged in the latter type of activity. Id. at 393, 400-01, 421 N.W.2d 835. ¶ 33 The distinction between an extrahazardous activity and an inherently dangerous activity is not always obvious, and accordingly, some examples are instructive. In Estate of Thompson, the court of appeals held that working with high voltage electricity is inherently dangerous, not extrahazardous. 225 Wis.2d at 596, 593 N.W.2d 901. The court concluded that when Thompson was electrocuted, he was not engaged in an activity in which the risk of harm remained unreasonably high no matter how carefully it was undertaken. Id. Instead, steps could have been taken to minimize the risk of Thompson's injury, including wearing rubber gloves, using mechanical equipment to remove the utility pole, or covering the pole. Id. As the court of appeals recognized, in order for an activity to be taken out of the realm of extrahazardous, the risk of injury need not be eliminated, just minimized. Id. ¶ 34 The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Anderson is especially on point. In that case, the court held that sandblasting oil storage tanks could not be considered abnormally dangerous [20] because the record demonstrated that an employee engaged in sandblasting could take precautions to minimize the risk of injury. 801 F.2d at 940. Anderson, a sandblaster employed by Tri-Kote, Inc. (Tri-Kote) from 1970 until 1983, died from silicosis, a serious lung disease caused by breathing in silicon dust over a long period of time. Id. at 938. Throughout his employment, Anderson worked mainly on Tri-Kote's contract with Marathon Petroleum Company (Marathon) to clean the inside of Marathon's oil storage tanks by sandblasting. Id. Anderson's widow sought to hold Marathon liable for her husband's death, alleging that his silicosis was caused by sandblasting in the confined storage tanks and thereby breathing in clouds of silicon dust. Id. Evidence was introduced that up until 1980, the only form of mask that Anderson wore to protect himself from silicon dust was a desert hood, consisting of wire mesh in front of his nose and mouth. Id. ¶ 35 The Seventh Circuit declined to except Anderson's tort claim from the general rule that an independent contractor's employee has no common law tort right against the principal employer. Id. at 940. According to the record, sandblasting could not be classified as abnormally dangerous because sandblasters could take steps to reduce the risk of serious injury. Id. Specifically, if the sandblaster is equipped not with the ridiculous `desert hood' but with a proper face mask to which a fresh-air hose is attached, so that the worker is breathing fresh air rather than air filled with silicon dust, the worker is in no danger. Id. ¶ 36 In this case, we conclude as a matter of law that machining an asbestos-containing friction disk is not an extrahazardous activity because steps may be taken to minimize the risk of injury. [21] Therefore, while inherently dangerous, the activity of machining an asbestos-containing friction disk does not create an exception to FMC's protection from tort liability. Similar to working with high voltage electricity, Estate of Thompson, 225 Wis.2d at 596, 593 N.W.2d 901, and sandblasting in a confined space, Anderson, 801 F.2d at 940, the activity of machining an asbestos-containing disk is not extrahazardous because the risk of injury can be minimized by wearing protective equipment and taking proper precautions. See 29 C.F.R. § 1926.1101(g) (2009); United States Department of Labor: Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), Asbestos Control, http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/asbestos/control.html (last visited July 9, 2010) (providing that exposure to asbestos in friction products can be prevented by engineering controls, administrative actions, and wearing personal protective equipment). In particular, the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has approved respirators for protecting employees from breathing air contaminated with asbestos dust. See 29 C.F.R. § 1910.134; National Cancer Institute, Asbestos Exposure and Cancer Risk 4 (2009), http://www.cancer.gov/images/documents/5ac7d2fc-27df-4 ecc-839f-dc5bc1909e01/FS3_21.pdf (stating that construction and industrial workers can protect themselves from asbestos exposure by wearing NIOSH-approved respirators). Accordingly, if while machining the asbestos-containing friction disks, Walter had been equipped with a proper respirator as opposed to a simple surgical mask, his risk of inhaling asbestos dust and developing mesothelioma would have been minimized. The activity of machining an asbestos-containing friction disk is therefore not one in which the risk of harm remains unreasonably high no matter how carefully it is undertaken and cannot be classified as extrahazardous. See Wagner, 143 Wis.2d at 392, 421 N.W.2d 835. ¶ 37 In summary, we conclude that FMC's alleged negligent conduct did not constitute an affirmative act of negligence, and machining an asbestos-containing friction disk is not an extrahazardous activity. Therefore, Tatera's negligence claim against FMC is not excepted from the general rule articulated in Wagner . FMC, as a principal employer, is not liable in tort for injuries sustained by Walter, the independent contractor's employee, while he was performing the contracted work of machining asbestos-containing friction disks. Because we hold as a matter of law that FMC is not liable in tort to Tatera, Tatera's negligence claim under Restatement (Second) of Torts § 388 is necessarily barred.