McKenna Steel Working Co. v. Lewis

Citations

• 111 F. 320
• 49 C.C.A. 369
• 1901 U.S. App. LEXIS 4383

Syllabus

<p>1. Master and Servant—Injury of Servant—Unsafe Place to Work.</p> <p>Plaintiff and three other workmen of defendant were engaged in transferring railroad rails from a car to the charger platform of a steel furnace. After pushing the car up abreast of the platform, which was six feet distant, they placed two skids, consisting of pieces of rails, from the car to the platform, and pushed the rails up such skids, two men standing at each end. The end of one of the skids, by reason of being insecurely fastened to the platform, slipped off, and a rail fell, striking plaintiff and breaking his leg. There was a shallow ditch or drain some six feet from the skid at which plaintiff was working, and parallel thereto, into which, as he claimed, he stepped and fell while attempting to avoid the falling rail. The ditch was plainly visible, and did not interfere with the work in pushing the rails up the skids, and no complaint had been made of it. B eld, that it did not render the place to work unsafe, nor was defendant chargeable with negligence in permitting it to remain there which rendered it liable for the injury.</p> <p>3. Same—Contributory Jíeotaotonoe.</p> <p>Whore it was the (InLy of plaintiff and his fellow workmen to adjust skids between a ear and a platform upon which they were pushing railroad rails, and means were at hand by which such skids could have been made secure, but they were not securely fastened, as plaintiff knew, and by reason of the slipping of one of them a rail fell and he was injured, he was guilty óf contributory negligence which precluded his recovery from the master for such injury, even though tlie latter was also negligent.</p>