Fegley v. Lycoming Rubber Co.

Citations

• 231 Pa. 446
• 80 A. 870
• 1911 Pa. LEXIS 863

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Master and servant — Unguarded machinery — Proximate cause — Bisk of employment.</p> <p>1. In an action by an employee against Ms employer to recover damages for personal injuries alleged to have been caused by the failure of the defendant to cover the cogwheels of a machine as required by the statute, the case is for the jury and a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff will be sustained, where the evidence shows that at the time of the accident the plaintiff was standing upon a small platform at the side of the machine attending to his duties, when another workman accidentally pushed a loaded wheelbarrow against the platform with such force as to cause plaintiff to lose his balance and fall on the exposed wheels.</p> <p>2. To hold that a prior slip or an accidental movement wMch brings a workman into contact with uncovered cogwheels, is to be considered as the proximate cause of the resulting injury, would be to practically nullify the provisions of the law made to protect him against such risks.</p> <p>3. An employer cannot invoke the defense of assumption of risk by the employee, in the face of a statute requiring safeguards to be supplied for dangerous machinery. •</p>