SCOTX Clarifies Scope of General Contractor’s Duty of Care to Subcontractor Employees

In a recent case, the Texas Supreme Court addressed the scope of the general contractor’s duty of care to its subcontractors’ employees on the project site. In JLB Builders, L.L.C. v. Hernandez, the Court upheld the trial court’s summary judgment in the general contractor’s favor and dismissed the negligence claims of an injured subcontractor employee on the grounds that the general contractor did not retain actual or contractual control over the injured subcontractor employee’s work.  

The JLB Builders case reaffirms that the typical aspects of the general contractor/subcontractor relationship do not give rise to a duty of care to subcontractor employees. However, the case is also a timely reminder that if a general contractor exercises too much control over the manner and means of its subcontractors’ work, the general contractor may find itself on the hook for injury claims brought by subcontractor employees.