For the last decade, anti-worker, pro-business rulings have been the order of the day for the Michigan Supreme Court.

But a surprising 7-0 ruling released on July 12 by Michigan's high court, opens the door for some construction workers injured on the job to win damages from general contractors.

"I was really quite surprised at the ruling, given the court's history," said Marshall Lasser, the Southfield attorney who argued the case for an injured IBEW electrician. "I wouldn't be so bold as to say this represents a change in heart by the Michigan Supreme Court. But this is a very important decision for Michigan's construction workers."

The reason: the ruling places liability on general contractors, Lasser said, for injuries sustained by construction workers hurt by "open and obvious" hazards in "common work areas."

Over the last few years, rulings by the Michigan Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeal, Lasser said, have made it nearly impossible for workers injured on the job to win damages beyond workers' compensation. Neither general contractors nor subcontractors have been legally liable for injuries sustained by workers hurt by "open and obvious hazards" in common work areas.

Michigan judges have said, for example, that under the "open and obvious" doctrine a landlord is not liable for injuries caused by hazards which a person could have seen, such as a parking lot pot hole, broken stairs, oil on pavement, or a pipe sticking into a pathway at eye level.

But a general contractor is not a landlord - and that is at the heart of the Supreme Court's ruling in this case. With its ruling, the high court said the injured electrician could sue the general contractor for failing to remove the pipes on the floor on which the electrician slipped.

The case arises out of an accident during the construction of the IMAX Theatre in Dearborn in 2000. An electrician slipped on pipes that were left on the floor of a storage area, used by many trades as a common work area. The pipes were owned by other subcontractors.

The electrician, who sustained back injuries and underwent shoulder surgery, was permanently disabled from working his trade. He sued the Henry Ford Museum (which owned the project), the general contractor, and a host of subcontractors on the project, for compensation for his injuries. Wayne County Circuit Court dismissed the case, ruling that pipes on the floor were "open and obvious." The worker appealed to the Michigan Court of Appeals, which affirmed the lower court's ruling.

In their July 12 ruling, the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the decisions of the lower courts, stating that the "open and obvious" doctrine could not be used by a general contractor to shield itself from liability.

In this ruling, the court cited its own decision in 1974 that said "placing ultimate responsibility on the general contractor for job safety in common work areas will, from a practical, economic standpoint, render it more likely that the various subcontractors being supervised by the general contractor will implement or that the general contractor will himself implement the necessary precautions and provide the necessary safety equipment in those areas."

With regard to the subcontractors who owned the pipes, the high court remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for that court to decide whether the subcontractors owed other tradesmen a duty to work safely. The high court said the subcontractors cannot use the "open and obvious" defense.

Lasser said it is unclear if the Court of Appeals will rule that the subcontractors had a duty to work safe practices so as not to injure tradesmen. If they decide there was no duty, Lasser said he will appeal again to the Supreme Court.

Although it will be two or three years before his client recovers any damages for his injury, Lasser said, at least the Supreme Court has made an important decision making it clear to general contractors that they must correct safety hazards in common work areas that affect building tradesmen.