Burt v. Jessup Steel Co.

Citations

• 229 Pa. 562
• 79 A. 121
• 1911 Pa. LEXIS 531

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Master and servant — Defective machinery — Notice to master — Evidence—Fellow servants.</p> <p>1. In an action by an employee against liis employer to recover damages for personal injuries sustained while working at a machine, where the charge is that the machine became unsafe to operate by permitting shears attached to it to become so dull as to be unfit for use, the burden is upon the plaintiff to show that defendant had notice of the defective condition, or that the defendant should have known if the machine had been properly inspected, and this burden is met by proving notice to the superior in charge of the employees.</p> <p>2. In such a case where there is evidence that both the superior in charge of the employees and the machinist whose duty it was to repair the shears had notice of their condition, and the evidence is conflicting as to whether the plaintiff was directed to work on the particular machine at which he .was injured or did so of his own volition, the question of the defendant’s negligence and the plaintiff’s contributory negligence is for the jury.</p>