Crilley v. New Amsterdam Gas Co.

Citations

• 106 A.D. 127
• 94 N.Y.S. 102

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — the furnishing of chisels made of coarse-grained, instead of fine-grained, . steel, held to justify a finding that the master had not furnished reasonably safe tools.</p> <p>In an action brought to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff, a boilermaker, while temporarily employed by the defendant in cutting rivets with a chisel, by being struck in the eye by a sliver from a chisel which he was using, 'it appeared that the chisels furnished the plaintiff were made by the defendant’s blacksmith of steel furnished by the defendant; that the plaintiff had complained to the defendant’s foreman about the breaking of the chisels furnished to him; that the foreman then brought him a chisel which he assured the plaintiff was all right; that the plaintiff, after examining the chisel and finding it apparently all right, struck it a few times with his hammer when a sliver from the head of the chisel struck the plaintiff in the eye destroying the sight thereof. The accident was due to the fact that the chisel was made of coarse grained steel, instead of fine-grained steel, which it was customary to use for chisels.</p> <p>Held, that it was improper for the court to nonsuit the plaintiff, as the jury might properly have found that the defendant had omitted to discharge its duty of furnishing the plaintiff with reasonably safe tools and appliances.</p>