Joe Hardesty, an attorney at Stites Harbison, recently posted an overview of a case in Indiana. After a jobsite injury, the construction manager was sued (along with several other entities) for failing to provide a safe project site. In this instance, the court disagreed:
In this case, the Court found that there were no provisions in the construction manager’s contract under which Hunt contractually accepted the duty to maintain safety on the project. The Court noted that the contract provided that the contractors, not the construction manager, have the responsibility for project safety and the safety of their employees. The Court found no safety provisions in Hunt’s contract that imposed any specific legal duty to or responsibility for the safety of all employees on the construction site. Therefore, the Court held that Hunt’s contract did not create a duty to employees for job site safety and that Hunt’s only responsibilities for safety were owed to the Stadium Authority.
AEC Forensics 