Legal Definitions - collateral negligence

Collateral negligence refers to a specific type of carelessness committed by an independent contractor or their employees during the course of their work. It involves negligent acts that are incidental to the main task they were hired to perform, rather than being an inherent risk of the work itself or a direct result of the employer's instructions.

Generally, the party who hired the independent contractor is not held responsible for injuries or damages caused by the contractor's collateral negligence. This is because the hiring party typically does not control the methods or day-to-day operations of an independent contractor. The negligence arises from the contractor's own improper execution of routine tasks or incidental actions, rather than from the dangerous nature of the work itself or a failure of the hiring party to select a competent contractor.

• Example 1: A homeowner hires a professional painting company to repaint the exterior of their house. While an employee of the painting company is setting up a ladder, they carelessly leave a bucket of paint thinner on a step, which then tips over and spills onto a neighbor's prize-winning rose bushes, killing them. The homeowner would likely not be liable for this damage. The negligence (leaving the bucket precariously) was an incidental act related to the painter's methods, not an inherent danger of painting itself, making it collateral negligence by the independent contractor's employee.

• Example 2: A retail store contracts with an independent cleaning service to clean the premises after hours. One evening, a cleaner from the service negligently leaves a mop bucket full of water in a high-traffic aisle without any warning signs, causing a store employee who arrives early the next morning to slip and fall, sustaining an injury. The retail store would generally not be held responsible for the cleaner's negligence. The act of leaving the bucket unattended was an improper method of performing a routine task by the independent contractor's employee, falling under the definition of collateral negligence.

• Example 3: A property management company hires an independent landscaping firm to maintain the grounds of an apartment complex. While one of the landscapers is taking a break, they negligently leave a running leaf blower unattended on a slight incline, and it rolls down, striking and damaging a tenant's parked car. The property management company would typically not be liable for the car damage. The landscaper's carelessness in leaving the equipment unattended was an incidental act during their work, not a direct result of the inherent dangers of landscaping or the instructions given by the property management company, thus constituting collateral negligence.