Case Against the Machine: When Rented Equipment Causes Personal Injury

Regardless of what construction trade you work in, it's almost certain that you've been in a situation where you, a coworker, or an employee of a different company have used a piece of machinery rented from a commercial lessor. Maybe you're a painter or electrician who needs a scissor lift to reach overhead work areas, or a laborer using a vibratory compaction tamper to level out the ground after filling an excavation. Construction companies regularly rent equipment from commercial lessors as a convenient and efficient alternative to purchasing it outright.

Whether the reason your company rented a piece of equipment is because you were dispatched to a distant jobsite or because the equipment isn't needed often enough to justify buying it, you, your coworkers, and other workers on the jobsite expect the equipment to operate safely. A piece of equipment that malfunctions presents a serious hazard to the operator and anyone nearby.

If you are injured as a result of the malfunction or failure of rented equipment, the lessor — the company in the business of renting it — can be held liable in a civil action.

Responsibilities of a Lessor of Construction Equipment

California Civil Code section 1955 sets forth the duties of a lessor of personal property, which includes any equipment your company rents from a commercial lessor. Under section 1955, a lessor is required to do three specific things before renting out a piece of equipment:

1. Inspect the equipment for defects
2. Make it safe for its intended use
3. Adequately warn of any known dangers

If a commercial lessor fails to exercise reasonable care in any of these responsibilities, they have been negligent and can be held civilly liable.

Inspecting for Defects

A commercial lessor is required to have operation and maintenance manuals for all the equipment it rents. Within these manuals, the manufacturers set forth how often the equipment must be inspected, what needs to be inspected, and what to do if the equipment fails inspection. Each inspection must be documented to ensure that faulty equipment doesn't get rented out. Most companies also perform a pre-rental inspection — even if the equipment was recently inspected, they'll do another check before releasing it.

During these inspections, the lessor learns of any issues that may present a hazard. If there are defects — malfunctions, faulty wiring, deactivated alarms, brake failures — the lessor is required to correct them before the machine can be rented. Failure to do so demonstrates a failure to exercise reasonable care.

Making Equipment Safe for Its Intended Use

Take a scissor lift as an example. Plumbers may use one to install overhead piping, sheet metal workers to install unistruts, and painters to paint a ceiling. In each case, workers are using the lift for overhead work that may require them to move along to access different areas. That's the scissor lift's intended use, and a commercial lessor must ensure it's safe for that purpose — that all controls function properly, the wheels are in good condition, and the lift moves up and down smoothly.

This requirement goes hand in hand with routine inspections. If a commercial lessor is regularly inspecting equipment, it can ensure that when it leaves the rental yard and arrives on a construction site, it will operate safely for the purpose it was rented for.

Adequately Warning of Known Dangers

If you're a construction worker, you're likely familiar with the assortment of decals on equipment — the ones with exclamation points or that say "DANGER" in bright red letters. These are warnings that a commercial lessor is required to place and maintain on their equipment. Additionally, a lessor is generally required to provide an operator's manual with a detailed description of all known dangers.

Even if a commercial lessor rents equipment that's in good condition, if there are known mechanical issues that present a danger, they must inform the company or individual renting it. Failure to warn is a failure to exercise reasonable care.

At Arns Davis Law, we know that our clients regularly encounter rented construction equipment — either because they're directly operating it or because another worker on the jobsite is. If you've been injured due to the failure or malfunction of rented equipment, you may have a right to bring an action against the lessor. Call us at (415) 495-7800 for a free consultation.