Michael v. Roanoke Machine Works

Citations

• 90 Va. 492
• 19 S.E. 261
• 1894 Va. LEXIS 13

Syllabus

<p>1. Employees — Risks—Other perils — Warning.—An employee’s assumption of the hazards of his employment, does not extend to the hazards of a work of a different character to which his employer temporarily orders him. And in such case, he is entitled to rely on his employer’s giving him proper warning of other perils unknown to him, and from which said work necessarily distracts his attention.</p> <p>2. Idem — Negligent• injuries — Case at bar. — One, employed as a helper in defendant’s boiler shop, was ordered to do a novel and engrossing work— that of emptying certain oil pans ; and whilst sitting on a wall twenty-five feet high with his legs hanging over its side, and reaching down two and a half feet to empty the pans with his left hand, he had to hang for support, his right arm across an iron rail on top of the wall, on which moved on flanged wheels a huge crane propelled by an engine. When he started to do the work, the crane was stationary. He had to sit with his back to the crane, and was engrossed with emptying the third pan when the crane was set in motion, without warning to him, and passing over his right arm, crushed it. On demurrer to the evidence at trial of action for damages,</p> <p>Held :</p> <p>The defendant company is liable, the injury being the result of its negligence, without contributory negligence on the plaintiff’s part.</p> <p>3. Practice at Common Law — Demurrer to evidence. — If the court would not set aside the verdict so finding the fact, that fact should be considered as established by the evidence demurred to.</p> <p>4. Idem — Argument.—It was not improper to allow counsel in discussing the amount of damages, to state to the jury that, so far as they were concerned, the demurrer to evidence was a practical admission of negligence on the defendant’s part.</p>