Johnson v. Columbia & Puget Sound Railway Co.

Citations

• 74 Wash. 417
• 133 P. 604
• 1913 Wash. LEXIS 2070

Syllabus

<p>Master and Servant — Injury to Servant — Proximate Cause— Evidence — Sufficiency. In an action for personal injuries to a blacksmith's helper, through the use of an improper style of tongs, which it was alleged could not safely hold the iron to be welded, the use of such tongs was not negligence nor the proximate cause of the accident, where it appears that the tongs used held the iron in position at the time of, and had nothing to do with, the cause of the accident.</p> <p>Same — Res Ipsa Loquitur. In an action for personal injuries sustained by a blacksmith’s helper who was struck when a piece of iron that was being welded by a steam hammer slipped out and fell, there can be no recovery on the ground of res ipsa loquitur, where there was nothing to show what caused the iron to slip and no proof of negligence; since it was necessary for plaintiff to show that it was caused by defective machinery or some extraordinary or negligent act under the control of the defendant.</p>