 James Earl Byrd, the plaintiff, was employed by R. H. Bouligny, Inc., an independent contractor.Bouligny had a $334,300 contract with Blue Ridge to construct 24 miles of new power lines, the reconversion to higher capacities of about 88 miles of existing lines, and the construction of two new substations and a breaker station.Byrd touched a live wire and suffered injuries while connecting power lines to one of the new substations.