Klenzing v. Greenfield Lumber Co.

Citations

• 255 Pa. 516
• 100 A. 460
• 1917 Pa. LEXIS 484

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Master and servant — Scaffold—Defective fastening —Fall—Fellow servant rule — Case for jury — Act June 10, 1907, p. l. m.</p> <p>1. In an action by an employee against a contractor to recover damages for personal injuries resulting from a fall occasioned by the alleged failure of the defendant to properly fasten scaffold uprights used in the construction of a porch, the case is for the jury and a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff will be sustained where it appears that the scaffold had been placed in position by defendant’s foreman, that plaintiff, who took no part in its erection or use was directed .to tear the scaffold down, and while engaged in so doing, in order to avoid crossing over a stairway between joists, swung outside and around one of the uprights when it pulled out and threw him to the ground, causing the injuries complained of.</p> <p>2. In such case where the foreman acted in a dual capacity, not only in doing the work himself but in exercising supervision over the manner and méthod of doing the work, the defendant was properly held liable for his negligence.</p> <p>3. In such ease plaintiff’s right to recover was not wholly dependent upon the provisions of the Act of June 10, 1907, P. L. 523, providing that the fellow servant rule shall not be a defense in certain- cases, where there was evidence that the foreman used a faulty method of construction in tbe erection of the scaffold, which if believed would tend to fix direct liability on defendant for plaintiff’s injuries, irrespective of said act.</p>