Sauvageau v. River Spinning Co.

Citations

• 129 F. 961
• 1904 U.S. App. LEXIS 4784

Syllabus

<p>1. Master and Servant — Injuries to Servant — Rules—Evidence—Weight.</p> <p>Where, in an action for injuries to a servant while cleaning a carding machine, the evidence as to whether plaintiff was instructed tó clean the machine while in motion was conflicting, and plaintiff’s counsel argued to the jury that it was unreasonable to believe that plaintiff, after being expressly forbidden to clean the machine while in motion, as defendant testified, would have proceeded within a few minutes to disobey such instruction, a verdict in favor of plaintiff on such issue should not be set aside.</p> <p>2. Same — Assumption of Risk.</p> <p>Plaintiff, while engaged in cleaning a wool carding machine while in motion, was injured by having his hand caught between the cylinder and one of the top rolls of the machine. The shaft which plaintiff was cleaning projected beyond the frame of the machine, and at the end thereof was a gear over which a chain ran. Wool having collected on the shaft inside the gear and outside the cylinder, plaintiff attempted to take the wool off the shaft as he was told to do. The wool got caught in the cylinder and dragged his hand in sidewise. Held that, while the risk of getting his hand caught in the gear and chain was obvious, plaintiff not having placed his hand where the rolls or cylinder would catch it, the risk that it would be drawn in by the wool caught in the cylinder was not so obvious that plaintiff assumed the same as a matter of law.</p> <p>3. Same — Contributory Negligence.</p> <p>Where plaintiff, who was 18 years of age, and had worked in the carding room of a factory only 3 days prior to his injury, was instructed by his superior to lift up his sleeve and clean a wool carding machine while in motion, and to look out for the chain at the end of the shaft, which danger he avoided, but he pulled off the wool from the shaft in such a manner that it became caught in the cylinder and drew his hand in, he was not thereby guilty of contributo