Rinehuls v. Ely

Citations

• 242 Pa. 537
• 89 A. 668
• 1914 Pa. LEXIS 686

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Master and servant — Safe place to work — Bail-roads — BraJeemen—Appliance on freight cars — Charge of court.</p> <p>1. The business of a brakeman of a railroad company is essentially one in which anything like absolute safety can never be obtained. It is the duty of his employer to furnish him a reasonably safe place to work, subject to such risks and dangers as are necessarily incident to his employment; but this is all that can be supplied, and it is error for the court in a negligence case to charge the jury that the railroad company is bound to furnish the brakeman a safe place to work.</p> <p>2. It is not an accurate definition of the duties of a master to his servant to say that he must furnish a safe place to work and safe tools with which to work. Employers are only required to furnish a reasonably safe plape in which, and reasonably safe tools with which to work. The distinction is based on substantial grounds. The law does not require that the master shall be an insurer of the safety of his servants.</p>