Common work area doctrine applied

When Kevin Hamm suffered serious injury while helping to renovate the IM building at the University of Michigan, he attempted to hold the general contractor liable.

The Court dismissed his case, which was based upon a head injury he suffered when a sheet of plywood struck him in the head after a gust of wind.  The plywood had been deposited over a running track to protect the track during construction, but had not been anchored in any manner.  The Court held that the unanchored plywood was not an apparent danger and did not represent a serious risk to a significant number of workers.  As a result, the general contractor owed no duty to Hamm or other employees of sub-contractors working on the site.