Sondra Andrews was employed by Securitas Security Services USA, Inc, an independent contractor retained by Verizon to provide security services at its facilities. Securitas employees are stationed at guard shacks, which are small, freestanding structures from which guards monitor those who enter and exit the Verizon facility. Normally an office chair is available for use by Securitas employees during their eight-hour shifts. However, a few days before the incident, the office chair broke. Marvin Kephart, another Securitas employee, replaced the broken chair with a barstool-type chair he obtained from one of Verizon’s buildings with the permission of a Verizon employee.

On the day of the accident, Andrews was working a graveyard shift. At approximately 4:00 a.m., Andrews attempted to get down from the replacement chair, but the top of her right foot became caught in the chair’s footrest. She stumbled trying to stand up from the chair causing both her and the chair to fall. Andrews sustained a fracture to her upper spine, which required surgery and a spinal fusion. She has not returned to work since the incident.

Andrews filed a negligence suit against Verizon, alleging it failed to exercise reasonable care, failed to provide a reasonably safe place for Andrews to work, and failed to “furnish, maintain or repair” a chair that was reasonably safe for her use. Andrews claimed Verizon “knew or should have known the chair was unsafe . . . .”

Verizon moved for summary judgment. After considering the parties’ submissions and conducting a hearing, the court granted Verizon’s summary judgment motion. The court reasoned that Andrews was an employee of Verizon’s independent contractor, and therefore she was required to prove Verizon “affirmatively contributed to the injury.” The court found no “such evidence has been presented.” Her case was therefore dismissed. The Court of Appeal affirmed in the unpublished case of Andrews v. Verizon.

“Generally, when employees of independent contractors are injured in the workplace, they cannot sue the party that hired the contractor to do the work. . . . [¶] By hiring an independent contractor, the hirer implicitly delegates to the contractor any tort law duty it owes to the contractor’s employees to ensure the safety of the specific workplace that is the subject of the contract.” (SeaBright Ins. Co. v. US Airways, Inc. (2011) 52 Cal.4th 590, 594; see Privette v. Superior Court (1993) 5 Cal.4th 689, 696; Toland v. Sunland Housing Group, Inc. (1998) 18 Cal.4th 253, 256.)

Two exceptions are potentially relevant here. First, an exception applies when the hirer’s act of providing unsafe equipment affirmatively contributed to the party’s injuries. (McKown v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (2002) 27 Cal.4th 219, 225 (McKown).) Second, the hirer of an independent contractor may be held liable for injuries to the contractor’s employee if the hirer’s negligent exercise of retained control over safety conditions at a worksite “affirmatively contributed to the employee’s injuries.” (Hooker v. Department of Transportation (2002) 27 Cal.4th 198, 202 (Hooker).)

Neither exception applied here.