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Sorban v. Sterling Engineering Corp.9/16/2003
h Corp., 890 F.2d 195, 197 (9th Cir. 1989). Finally, we note that "the characteristic element [of wilful misconduct] is the design to injure either actually entertained or to be implied from the conduct and circumstances. . . . Not only the action producing the injury but the resulting injury also must be intentional." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Morocco v. Rex Lumber Co., supra, 72 Conn. App. 523.
Accordingly, we conclude that the court applied the improper standard when it defined substantial certainty as the equivalent of inevitability.
II.
Our next task, therefore, is to determine whether summary judgment is warranted in this case on the basis of the appropriate definition of the substantial certainty standard. It is axiomatic that " e may affirm a proper result of the trial court for a different reason." Biro v. Hirsch, 62 Conn. App. 11, 16 n.7, 771 A.2d 129, cert. denied, 256 Conn. 908, 772 A.2d 601 (2001); see also State v. Salmond, 69 Conn. App. 81, 91, 797 A.2d 1113, cert. denied, 260 Conn. 929, 798 A.2d 973 (2002). We determine that under the facts and circumstances of this case, the plaintiff failed to establish facts that demonstrate that the defendant intentionally created a dangerous condition that made the injuries he sustained substantially certain to occur.
The plaintiff argues that evidence existed to support his claim that there was a genuine issue of material fact that his injury was substantially certain to occur as a result of the deliberate actions of the defendant. First, the plaintiff's expert, Irving U. Ojalvo, a professional engineer, noted the report from an investigator from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that a similar incident occurred on September 20, 1995, in which the tool head traveled too far, struck the material, causing it to be knocked off the rotating table, and struck the operator. The investigator concluded that if the defendant had adopted a policy after the 1995 incident regarding the operation of the lathe, it was never communicated to the employees. The plaintiff alleged that he was never trained to operate the lathe with the rotating table turned off. The plaintiff also claims that the defendant knew that the lathe was defective and that the tool head tended to drift. Finally, the plaintiff contends that the defendant misrepresented a material fact to the investigator by stating that the lathe did not have brakes when in fact it did.
The crux of the plaintiff's case is that the safety features of the lathe were not operational, the defendant failed to train the plaintiff properly and to inform him of the policy regarding the rotating table, and that the defendant failed to provide adequate butt blocks and guard shields. As a result of those intentional acts, the plaintiff claims, his injuries were substantially certain to occur.
In Morocco, we stated that " his court and the Supreme Court . . . have stated that OSHA violations are not enough to take the resulting injury out of the exclusivity provision of the act." Morocco v. Rex Lumber Co., supra, 72 Conn. App. 525. We also have set forth the rule that " wrongful failure to act to prevent injury is not the equivalent of an intention to cause injury." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Ramos v. Branford, supra, 63 Conn. App. 685; Melanson v. West Hartford, supra, 61 Conn. App. 689 n.6.
In the record before us, there is no evidence that the defendant's actions were committed with the purpose of causing injury. See Ramos v. Branford, supra, 63 Conn. App. 684. Although the defendant's failure (1) to repair the lathe, (2) to provide adequate butt blocks and shield guards, and (3) to alert emp
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