Nunez v. Steel Forming
Plaintiff Elias Nunez suffered serious injuries while operating a power press in the course and scope of his employment with defendant Commercial Metal Forming (CMF).[1] Nunez filed a complaint against CMF, Orange County Metal Works, Inc., and others, alleging claims for products liability, negligence, negligence per se, and violation of Labor Code section 4558. (All further statutory references are to the Labor Code unless otherwise specified.) Section 4558 permits an employee to sue an employer, notwithstanding the exclusivity of the workers compensation law ( 3600 et seq.), in the event the employee is injured as a result of the employers willful removal of or failure to install appropriate point of operation guards on certain power tools. (Flowmaster, Inc. v. Superior Court (1993) 16 Cal.App.4th 1019, 1029 (Flowmaster).) Court affirm. After reviewing the record in the light most favorable to Nunez, we conclude Nunezs evidence was insufficient to permit a jury to find in his favor on the section 4558 claim. Nunez failed to establish CMF removed or failed to install a point of operation guard on the power press, which had been required or provided by the manufacturer of the press. The trial court, therefore, did not err by granting defendants motion for nonsuit as to that claim.
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