Spencer

Plaintiff filed suit against the defendant for severe and permanent personal injuries suffered in a fall from a scaffold while employed as an apprentice roofer by a subcontractor at a residential construction project on which defendant was the general contractor. The jury found for defendant and judgment was entered accordingly. Plaintiff appeals from the judgment.

Facts

Defendant was the general contractor at the Huntington Harbor Estates, a residential construction project at Huntington Beach, California. At the time of his injuries, plaintiff, then 36, was an apprentice shingler with approximately 10 days experience and employed by the roofing subcontractor, Whitcomb Roofing Company.

According to the plaintiff, the general procedure used in roofing on this particular job was as follows. The carpenters’ last task before the roofers began their work was to nail sheeting to the two-inch by eight-inch rafters. This sheeting was one-inch by eight-inch rough lumber which was normally spaced four to six inches apart. However, where there was an overhang, the sheeting was not spaced, and the carpenters were required to cover the overhang with solid sheeting. When the…