Hultgren v. Erie Water Works Commissioners

Citations

• 249 Pa. 437
• 95 A. 92
• 1915 Pa. LEXIS 739

Syllabus

<p>Negligence—Master and servant—Tools and instrumentalities— Deterioration of steel chain—Annealing—Case for jury.</p> <p>In an action hy an employee to recover damages for personal injuries the case is for the jury and a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff will he sustained where it appears that the plaintiff was injured hy the breaking of a steel hook which formed part of a chain being used hy himself and others, that the chain had been in use by the defendant for a period of twelve years or more, without being annealed, and that, the broken hook showed a condition of crystallization; and where there was expert testimony that such a chain would hy continual usage become fatigued and crystallized and lose its original strength, and that such crystallization could he, and customarily was, prevented by the process of annealing about once a year.</p>