Judge erred on duty of contractor

Trial Notebook

By Steven P. Garmisa

Hoey & Farina

Posted October 21, 2021 11:26 AM

Rodrick Studer, general manager of Providence Ag, a fertilizer supply company in Roanoke, Ill., walked out of his office, waved to a technician from the company he hired to recalibrate and recertify three scales, rounded a corner and stepped into an open manhole, breaking his leg and injuring his back. An employee of Central Illinois Scale Co. created the hazard by removing the manhole cover to reach the mechanism of a truck scale, and he failed to provide any safeguards or warnings. Arguing it owed no duty to Studer and …

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