Wal-Mart Stores East, LP v. Johnson (Independent-Contractor Shock Injury Premises Liability Appeal)
Florida's Second District Court of Appeal affirmed a jury verdict against Wal-Mart Stores East, LP in favor of Joseph Johnson, an independent contractor's technician who was shocked and fell from a ladder while installing an automatic door at a Walmart store after touching a concealed, defectively wired junction box in a Walmart-controlled electrical room. The court rejected Walmart's argument that it owed no duty to a contractor's employee injured while performing the contracted work.
Why it matters
Clarifies that Florida's independent-contractor no-duty rule protects owners only from claims tied to hazards inherent in the work actually contracted for, not from separate, undisclosed dangers the owner controls and knows or should know about, particularly in restricted-access areas only the owner can inspect.
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