An experienced tradesperson engaged as an independent contractor who is injured while performing a simple, routine task (such as using a ladder) bears the responsibility for assessing and managing the obvious risks of that task. The principal's duty of care does not extend to warning or instructing the contractor about risks inherent in simple operations within the contractor's expertise. Statutory obligations under the Construction Safety Regulations fall on the person actually carrying out the construction work, not on the contractor who engaged the subcontractor, where the subcontractor has been wholly delegated the work.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 2 later cases that cite this judgment.