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A general legal principle is a contractor is not liable for an injury to an employee of an independent contractor caused by the independent contractor's negligence.

While general contractors often cite this principle to avoid liability for an injury to a subcontractor's employee caused by the subcontractor, courts have recognized exceptions to the rule when the general contractor has control of the job site or has retained control of the manner in which the subcontractor performs its work.

In Bieruta v. Klein Creek Corp., 770 N.E.2d 1175 (Ill. App. 2002), one court recently considered whether a general contractor should be held liable for an injury to a subcontractor's employee based on its alleged control over the subcontractor's work.

In Bieruta, an excavation subcontractor's employee was injured on a job site when he fell into an open trench. The employee brought suit against the project's general contractor, claiming that the general contractor retained sufficient control over safety on the job site to give rise to a duty to provide a safe working place.

The general contractor argued that it bore no such duty to the employee and the trial court agreed, dismissing the employee's suit. The employee then appealed.