Gunderson v. Peterson

Citations

• 65 Ill. 193

Syllabus

<p>Negligence—whether injury resulted from negligence or accident. The plaintiff, while in defendant’s service as mate of a schooner, received a personal injury from the breaking of a mast, whereby he fell therefrom upon the deck. In a suit to recover damages, the only negligence charged to the defendant was that the mast, before the accident, was twisted to a certain distance, and, therefore, unsafe, while the proof showed that the defects complained of were at least 12 feet from the place where the mast broke, and that there was not the slightest appearance of rottenness or decay at the place of the breaking, and that the accident was caused by a strong wind aloft, while there was only very little on deck: Held, that the plaintiff was not entitled to recover, and that the injury must be regarded as one incident to the service.</p>