Tyler Renwick, a subcontractor employee, was injured falling off a defective ladder at a casino-hotel owned by PNK Lake Charles. Renwick sued PNK for negligence as the property owner and ladder custodian. The trial court dismissed the case, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and sent it back for trial, ruling that genuine questions of fact exist about whether PNK is liable for the unsafe conditions and defective equipment.
Property owners can be held liable for injuries to subcontractor employees even when a general contractor hired the subcontractor, if the owner exercised operational control or authorized unsafe practices.