Golec v. Metal Exchange Corp

In Golec v. Metal Exchange Corp, 453 Mich 149; 551 NW2d 132 (1996), the plaintiff was slightly injured when scrap metal he was loading into a furnace exploded. The plaintiff reported the incident and the cause thereof, the presence of aerosol cans and/or water in the scrap, but was told to return to his duties. No precautions were taken to prevent further explosions. Shortly thereafter, the plaintiff was severely burned when a large explosion occurred. In affirming in part and remanding for further proceedings, our Supreme Court stated that if the facts as alleged by the plaintiff were shown at trial, then plaintiff would have established the existence of a continually operative dangerous condition, in that every load of metal had the potential to explode, and would have established the existence of a genuine issue of fact as to whether the defendant had actual knowledge that an injury was certain to occur. Id., 186.