Can a general contractor be held liable for injuries sustained by a subcontractor?

The general contractor clearly is not an insurer of the safety of the employees of a subcontractor and cannot be held liable for an injury resulting from a danger which was obvious or which should have been observed in the exercise of ordinary care. (Souza v. Pratico, supra, 245 Cal.App.2d at p. 657, 54 Cal.Rptr. 159.) Moreover, the general contractor is not chargeable as an invitor in cases in which its relationship with the subcontractor is so attenuated, or where it retains such a small quantum of control over the subcontractor, as to make protective measures unfeasible. (See Caswell v. Lynch, supra, 23 Cal.App.3d 87, 91, 99 Cal.Rptr. 880.)

Without even exploring the matter of the general contractor's control over the

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