PITTSBURGH - A roofer should have known better, a Pennsylvania appeals court has ruled, finding that a ladder placed on a wooden block is an obviously dangerous condition.
The Superior Court's Jan. 29 decision in favor of homeowner Samuel Berish rejects claims by Jamye Larose, who was hired to perform roof work on a house in Masontown. It affirms a trial court ruling from Fayette County.
Larose fell while working for Berish, whose son had set up a ladder for Berish to use. Court records say the 20-foot ladder was placed on an unstable block of wood and was resting against an unstable part of the roof in August 2021.
Larose attempted to descend the ladder but it "kicked out" from under him, causing him to fall and injure himself. He sued in July 2023 but had both versions of his complaint tossed.
He asked the Superior Court to find the ladder was not an "open and obvious condition," but a three-judge panel refused.
"To begin, 'reasonable minds could not differ as to the conclusion' that the positioning of a ladder on an unstable piece of wood to be used to ascend to a building roof presents a potential condition that is both open and obvious," Judge Mary Jane Bowes wrote.
"This is especially true as to Plaintiff, a person contracted to perform roof work whose task at the house necessarily entailed utilizing a ladder to perform his duties."
Larose failed to show that he was unable to see where the ladder was placed or if it was the only way up to the roof, the court wrote. His charge of negligence is then limited to the placement of the ladder, which he had control of before climbing it.
Relevant case law came from more than a century ago. In 1906, a Pennsylvania court found a premises owner wasn't liable when a chimney repairman fell while using a ladder he wasn't told to use.
"(Larose's) amended complaint... did not aver that either Defendant or his son represented that the ladder was placed securely or must be used to complete the work," Bowes wrote.
"Plaintiff instead chose to use it without taking any steps to otherwise ensure its safe settlement."
Chad Shannon of Friday & Cox represents the plaintiff, while Berish and Travelers Insurance are represented by Cara Chromiak of William J. Ferren & Associates and Elizabeth Wiese.
The trial court judge's opinion said roofing contractors are expected to have more expertise with ladders than homeowners.
"If placing a ladder on a block of wood is unsafe, it is also open and obvious, especially to a professional who regularly uses ladders in his daily work," the opinion said.