Ehni v. National Tube Works Co.

Citations

• 203 Pa. 186
• 52 A. 166
• 1902 Pa. LEXIS 681

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Master and servant — Suitable appliances.</p> <p>When suitable material is furnished to an employee by his employer, the latter does not engage that it shall always continue in the same condition. It is the duty of the employee to discover and report to his employer any defect which may arise by reason or in course of the use made of the material. He has means of observing and ascertaining any such defect which the employer does not possess, and it is his duty to exercise reasonable care for his own protection.</p> <p>In an action by a belt repairer in an iron works against his employer to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the breaking of a plank in a scaffold upon which the plaintiff was standing, a nonsuit is properly entered where it appears from the plaintiff’s own testimony that he was perfectly familiar with the plank, that he had used it a great many times during the two years or more of his employment, that the plank was apparently of ample size and strength, and with nothing to indicate any defect before the accident. In such a case there is no duty upon the employer to have the plank inspected by a third party; nor is evidence admissible of an expert nature, either as to the character of the plank when it was first selected for use, or as to the effect upon it of the conditions under which it was used by .the plaintiff.</p>