A Michigan appeals court wrongly granted summary judgment to a contractor and subcontractor sued for negligence by a worker who was electrocuted on the job, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
The high court said the Court of Appeals erred in determining that DTE Electric Co. didn’t owe a duty of care to Shareef El-Jamaly, who sued DTE and Kirco Manix Construction LLC after he was electrocuted when a metal tool he was carrying came into contact with a high-voltage power line owned by DTE.
Mr. El-Jamaly alleged Kirco was liable for the negligence of its subcontractors under a “common work area” doctrine and that DTE was negligent because it was aware of the danger posed by the power line but failed to remediate the issues.
A trial judge denied the defense motions for summary judgment, but the Court of Appeals reversed that decision.
The state Supreme Court said while general contractors are typically not liable for subcontractor negligence, there are exceptions to the rule.
In Shareef El-Jamaly v. Kirco Manix Construction LLC, the high court wrote that there was a “factual discrepancy” over the actual height of the power lines, and whether the defendants took reasonable steps to ensure workers were protected from power line dangers.
The court also said there were factual disputes over the condition of the power lines at the time of the accident.
The Supreme Court reversed and remanded to the trial court.