Hemmingson v. Carbon Hill Coal Co.

Citations

• 62 Wash. 28
• 112 P. 1111
• 1911 Wash. LEXIS 642

Syllabus

<p>Master and Servant — Saee Place — Tunnels — Assumption oe Risks — Contributory Negligence — Question eor Jury. The questions of contributory negligence and assumption of risks by a miner injured through the fall of rock while assisting to timber a tunnel are for the jury, where the foreman inspected the place and ordered the plaintiff to work there, and there was some evidence that it was customary for miners engaged in timbering to sound the rock and make some inspection for themselves.</p> <p>Same — Coal Mining — Statutes—Application. Rem. &. Bal. Code, § 7394, providing that the owner shall send down into the mine to be delivered at the working place sufficient timbers and props, in the act on the subject of “coal mines,” relating particularly to the extra hazards of that business, has no application to prospecting tunnels in which no coal was being mined and which was not a part of a coal mine; the language indicating that the legislature had in mind the extra hazards peculiar to coal mining</p> <p>(Dunbar, C. J., dissenting).</p> <p>Appeal — -Review—Instructions—Trial—Harmless Error. Upon a general verdict, the erroneous submission of the case upon the coal mining statute is not harmless, and a new trial is necessary, although there was sufficient evidence to go to the jury upon the common law liability.</p> <p>Master and Servant — Saee Place — Assumption oe Risks — Inspection — Evidence oe Custom. Where the character of tunnel work is constantly changing, in the absence of rules promulgated by the master or fixed by law, evidence is admissible of a custom of miners engaged in timbering to test and inspect the roof for themselves, regardless of a test made by the tunnel boss some time before the accident.</p>