Better Roads Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85913
Road Contractor's Excavator InCourt Crushed Blasting. after dangerous activities, some activities, under cer- tain conditions, may be so hazardous they result in strict liability. Though one who carries on an abnormally dangerous activity does so with the utmost care, they are liable for any injury or dam- age resulting from the activity to anyone whose person or property they should recognize as likely to be harmed by a mishap. Generally, an activity is deemed abnormally dangerous if it involves a risk of serious harm to others that cannot be eliminat- ed by the exercise of the utmost care, and includes activities such as blasting, the testing of rockets, and the keeping of wild or vicious animals. "Assumption of the risk" is a different legal "A doctrine that applies to bar or limit a plaintiff's recovery. Though most cases in which the doctrine of assumption of risk exists involve recreational sports, the doctrine has been applied to dangerous activities in other situations involving an inher- ent risk of injury to voluntary participants. In Montana, these two doctrines intersected in a re- cent blasting case. In Patterson Enterprises, Inc. v. Johnson (Feb. 24, 2012), the Montana Supreme Court held that a road 15a April 2012 Better Roads bnormally dangerous activities" are subject to special legal principles. According to the doctrine of abnormally contractor and its employees assumed the risk for an excavator that was crushed as part of a blasting operation by its blasting subcontractor. In fall 2006, Patterson was hired to construct a road approximate- ly 20 miles west of Missoula. Since the road was to be constructed in mountainous terrain, a significant amount of blasting was required. Patterson hired Archie Johnson Contracting (AJC) to perform all blasting on the project. On January 2, 2007, Patterson and AJC entered into an agreement for the blasting, requiring AJC to drill and blast various rock outcroppings. Patterson's superintendent's job was to work with AJC's crews to remove blasted material. AJC was in charge of blasting while Patterson was in charge of excavating. During the project, Patterson used its equipment to clear or build a flat pad for AJC's drilling equip- ment. AJC would place its drilling equipment on the pad, drill holes in the rock, and fill the holes with explosives. Before detonating the explosives, AJC would clear the area. The explosions fractured the rock and allowed Patterson to excavate the blast- ed material. AJC and Patterson repeated this process as they constructed the road. On February 26, 2007, AJC detonated explosives along 500 yards of rock. This blast created a rock Better Roads February 2012 35 By Brian Morrow