Dollar v. Northwestern Improvement Co.

Citations

• 72 Wash. 1
• 129 P. 578
• 1913 Wash. LEXIS 1392

Syllabus

<p>Master and Servant — Safe Place — Gas in Coal Mine — Negligence — Violation of Statute — Evidence—Sufficiency. In an action by a coal miner for injuries sustained in a gas explosion, plaintiff’s statement that, if there had been enough air, the gas would not have accumulated in his working place, is a mere conclusion, and not sufficient evidence of negligence or of defendant’s failure to comply with Rem. & Bal. Code, § 7381, requiring good ventilation and sufficient circulating air.</p> <p>Mines and Mining — Use of Safety Lamps in Coal Mines — Statutes — Construction. Rem. & Bal. Code, § 7400, providing that only safety lamps shall be allowed or used in every working place of a coal mine where there is likely to be an accumulation of explosive gases or imminent danger therefrom, does not require the use of safety lamps where there had been no indication of gases until the instant of the accident, and where there was no evidence that there was likely to be an accumulation of explosive gases or imminent danger therefrom.</p> <p>Same — Use of Safety Lamps — Evidence—Admission by Counsel. In an action for injuries sustained in a gas explosion in a coal mine, through failure to use safety lamps in working places where there was likely to be an accumulation of explosive gases, a retort by counsel during the trial that the mine was a gaseous mine, and that gas was likely to come quickly in some parts of it, is not an admission that will avail the plaintiff, in the absence of evidence that there was likely to be an accumulation of gases at the point in question.</p>