Lanahan v. Arasapha Manufacturing Co.

Citations

• 240 Pa. 292
• 87 A. 286
• 1913 Pa. LEXIS 664

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Master and servant — Machinery—Proper guards-Belt shifter — Scope of employment — Evidence—Case for jury— Act of May 2, 1905, P. L. 852.</p> <p>1. Performance of the statutory duty imposed upon the proprietor of an industrial establishment by .the Act of May 2, 1905, P. L. 352, is the only excuse which the law will accept from him when charged with the disregard of it resulting in injuries to an employee, unless the lattér is guilty of contributory negligence and there is no reason or excuse for his being in proximity to the unguarded machinery at the time he was injured. The machinery is to be guarded, not only for the protection of those working at or about it but for the safety of all other employees in the establishment who may fairly and without fault’ on their part come in contact with it.</p> <p>2. In an action against an- employer to recover damages for the death of an employee alleged to have been caused by reason of defendant’s failure to observe the requirements of the factory act of May 2, 1905, P. L. 352, the case is for the jury where it appears that plaintiff’s husband had been employed as a “man of all work” in the defendant’s mill; that in the course of performing his work he operated an elevator, power to run which was furnished by a revolving shaft about ten feet above the floor of a room into which decedent’s duties took him; that on a collar attached to this shaft a set screw projected about one-half inch, unguarded in any way; that there was no belt shifter to throw belts on and off the pulley on the shaft by which the elevator was operated; that immediately before the accident the belt by which the elevator was operated had slipped from the pulley; that the decedent was last seen standing at the foot of a step-ladder under the revolving machinery; that it was the general rule in other parts of the mill for belts to be put on pulleys by the different employees whenever they were so disposed, and that there was no evidence that t