Byland v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours Powder Co.

Citations

• 93 Kan. 288
• 144 P. 251
• 1914 Kan. LEXIS 423

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Personal Injuries — Explosion of Powder Mill — No Proof of Negligence — Demurrer to Evidence Rightly Sustained. In an action to recover for injuries caused by the explosion of defendant’s powder mill there was no substantial evidence, direct or circumstantial, fairly tending to prove what actually caused the explosion. Held, following Brown v. Railroad Co., 81 Kan. 701, 106 Pac. 1001: “It is not sufficient to show circumstances which would indicate that the other party might have been guilty of negligence, especially when the evidence furnished suggests with equal force that the injury might have resulted without fault on the part of the other party;” and that the court rightly sustained a demurrer to the evidence.</p> <p>2. Same — Negligence as Alleged Must he Proven. Where in an action founded upon negligence the plaintiff alleges specifically the negligent acts of the defendant upon which he relies to recover, he must prove the negligence alleged, and will not be allowed to make a prima facie case relying upon the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur.</p> <p>3. Personal Injuries — Under the Facts Proven the Provisions of the Factory Act Do Not Apply. Plaintiff was injured by the explosion of defendant’s powder mill, and alleged, among other acts of negligence, failure of the defendant to provide some appliance to prevent metallic thumb-nuts from falling through a defective screen, and alleged that by reason of the absence of such an appliance metallic thumb-nuts found their way into the inflammable mixture and caused the explosion. At the time the explosion occurred the plaintiff was not at work near the machine, but stood outside the building where it was located and fifty feet therefrom. He was not injured by -the thumb-nuts falling upon him nor by coming in contact with the machine. Held, that the provisions of the factory act (Gen. Stat. 1909, § 4679) requiring machinery to be properly and safely guarded for the' purpose of preven