Can an employer be held liable for the negligence of an independent contractor?

We do not hold that defendant could not legally have delegated his duty of hiring. Rather, we hold that whether it was reasonable under the facts of this case for defendant to have delegated his duty to this particular entity is a question of fact for the jury. In this regard, we note another important caveat to the general rule that an employer is not liable for the negligence of an independent contractor--that it is the employer's duty to exercise care to select a competent contractor. "Where there is a foreseeable risk of harm to others unless precautions are taken, it is his duty to exercise reasonable care to select a competent contractor, and to provide, in the contract or otherwise, for such precautions.... In all of these cases, he is liable for his personal negligence, rather than that of the contractor." (Risley v. Lenwell (1954) 129 Cal.App.2d 608, 622, 277 P.2d 897 (quoting Prosser on Torts).)