Legal Question in Workers Comp in California

I manage a property that rents to RV's. We use a landscape service to remove ivy off a wall that required the use of a ladder far over 6 feet and the ivy location was far above 6 feet. The gardener was not harnessed in order to protect him from falling and was in fact goofing around like king kong. I told my manager that I am going to tell the gardening company that the next time out the gardeners will be required to use the proper safety equipment. My manager's response was not our problem (not our liability if accident happens). I told her unsafe conditions affect everyone and everything around them. Extreme example: worker could have fallen on someone. Apart from that, is there anything we can say to legally require them to use safety equipment and procedures?


Asked on 2/12/10, 6:14 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

C. Coulter Mulvihill Cynthia Coulter Mulvihill, Esq.

Yes.

You can require, as part of their contract to do work for your property, that the landscape service do the following:

(1) Use proper safety equipment

(2) Obtain a certificate of insurance naming your firm as an additional insured

(3) Include, in the contract for their services, an indemnification provision.

Your example of what could happen is a primary example of why your company should make sure to have those protections in place.

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Answered on 2/22/10, 9:04 pm


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