Kuhns v. H. C. Frick Coke Co.

Citations

• 216 Pa. 385
• 65 A. 796
• 1907 Pa. LEXIS 824

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Mines and mining — Contributory negligence — Nonsuit.</p> <p>In an action by an employee against his employer, a coal mining company, to recover damages for personal injuries, it appeared that the plaintiff had had an experience of two years in driving mules in a coal mine. At the time of the accident he was engaged in moving coal from the room in which it had been mined to the open shaft, by means of cars drawn by. mules. When the cars reached a certain point on the track, they entered upon a descending grade,' and it then became necessary to apply the brakes' to control the speed. There was a brake at the rear end of each car. On this particular occasion plaintiff had in charge three cars loaded with coal. When the incline was reached, he applied the brake on the first car; he was somewhat delayed in applying that on the second, but accomplished it, and then stepped down to be in position to apply the brake on the third car as it passed: He stepped down on the right hand side, where there was a rapidly diminishing clearance, as the cars progressed, between the cars and the rib or wall of the entry, with the result that he was carried or pressed into a clearance of only about twelve inches, and seriously injured in consequence. On the opposite side of the track there was a clear space of á width of three feet. Plaintiff testified that he had not gone over this particular track before. He carried a lamp at the time, and could have seen the danger if he had looked ahead. Held, that the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence, and that the court committed no error in entering a nonsuit.</p>