Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Co. v. Quinlan

Citations

• 77 Kan. 126
• 93 P. 632
• 1908 Kan. LEXIS 234

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>Master and Servant — Injury to Employee — Defective Appliances — Contributory Negligence — Assumption of Risk. The plaintiff, a skilled machinist employed by the defendant, was engaged in the work of chipping a casting. He held a handled chisel while a helper struck it with a plainly defective sledge-hammer supplied by the defendant. A sliver of steel broke from the head of the sledge, flew into plaintiff’s eye, and destroyed his vision. Under all the circumstances of the case, stated at length in the opinion, it is held: (1) The defendant was guilty of actionable negligence. (2) No duty rested upon the plaintiff to inspect the helper’s sledge or to observe its defective condition. He could assume the defendant had performed its duty and had furnished the helper a proper tool. (3) The failure on the part of the plaintiff to observe the sledge did not constitute contributory negligence. He could be negligent only in case he saw the sledge or under the circumstances must have seen it. (4) The plaintiff and the helper were not fellow servants. (5) The plaintiff did not assume the risk of injury from the sledge. (6) The question whether the plaintiff saw the sledge or under the circumstances must have seen it was for the jury to determine.</p>