So, in this opinion, I got to learn that when owners of commercial buildings modify the office to fit the needs of an incoming tenant, things are (at least sometimes) much more loosey-goosey than I would have thought they'd be.
What you'd think would happen (if you're me, anyway) is that the contractor would get building permits, make sure everything was up to code, carefully do the work, etc. These are big projects and fancy types of companies ordering and doing the work, after all.
Apparently not.
"On March 18, Crew sent CBRE a timeline for the project that still
included the permitting process, noting the project would need to begin the
following week to meet the tenant’s move-in date. On March 22, CBRE’s
senior real estate manager asked for an updated timeline “without a permit,”
indicating, “[w]e’ll probably get started on this one right away.” . . .
PRI’s asset manager “gave the ok to begin” on April 9, and work on the
project commenced.
In soliciting bids from subcontractors, Crew indicated the project “won’t
be permitted.”
On April 26, Johnson was working as foreman on the electrical wiring
in the suite. Johnson knew no permits had been pulled for the project. He
also knew the 277-volt power circuit was turned on to power the building’s
lights, as the mandatory temporary lighting had been removed the prior day.
However, he believed the 277-volt system was “separate and apart” from the
120-volt system he was working on, as currently required by code. Further,
he did not know there were no engineering plans, as-built drawings, as-built
plans, building inspections, or plans to bring the building up to code. Prior to
April 26, someone had removed the PCF superintendent’s lockout/tagout.
While attempting to replace a cover on a junction box labeled as 120-volt and
containing wires color-coded as 120-volt under the current code, Johnson
touched a live 277-volt wire, fell off a ladder, and sustained serious injuries."
One defense the defendant has is that an electrician should make sure that a wire isn't live every single time by testing it before he touches it, and I'm certain that's true.
But the junction box was labeled as 120-volt, had wires color-coded as 120-volt, and was supposed to be separate (under the building code) from the 277-volt system, yet none of that was true. So you can somewhat see why the worker thought that everything was okay.
One lesson I've learned from all of this is that being an attorney is perhaps infinitely preferable to being an electrician. At least on these types of projects.
'Cause, sure, lawyers occasionally have to deal with difficult opposing counsel (and/or clients). But at least none of them are literal (as opposed to figurative) 277-volt live wires.
