Construction contracts frequently contain boilerplate language in which the contractor assures the project owner that all applicable federal, state and local regulations, including safety regulations, will be followed at the job site. Does this mean the contractor assumes responsibility for the on-site safety practices of its subcontractors? That was the contention in a recent case.

An injured employee of a subcontractor, precluded by a worker’s compensation law from suing his own employer, sued the prime contractor for failing to impose or enforce safety precautions at the job site. The injured worker relied – unsuccessfully, as it turned out – on broad
language in the prime contract. The
argument ignored the traditional arrangement on a construction site where each trade is responsible for the safety practices of its own employees. The worker attempted, in effect, to make the prime contractor the insurer of safety for all personnel on the site.

Other cases this week involved a contractor’s late notice of a site condition and conflicting payment provisions in an excavation contract. The contractor would not have been delayed in obtaining a state storm water management permit if it had provided the project owner with prompt notice of the site condition. And, the unit-price excavation work had been converted to a fixed-price agreement.