Slater v. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Co.

Citations

• 91 Kan. 226
• 137 P. 943
• 1914 Kan. LEXIS 8

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS'BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Factory Act — Partly Penal — Partly ■ Remedial — Statute of Limitations. The factory act (Laws 1903, ch 356, Gen. Stat. 1909, §§ 4676-4683) is not a purely penal statute; on the contrary it is in part, penal and in part remedial. While the public derives a benefit from the enforcement of the law, the immediate purpose of the statute, so far as it allows the injured party to recover, is to accord- compensation, and this part of the statute -is purely compensatory. Therefore an action in favor of a. person- injured by a , violation of its provisions is not an action for a “penalty or forfeiture,” but is an action “for injury to the rights of another not arising on contract,” and is controlled'by the two-year statute of limitations. (A. T. & S. F. Rid. Co. v. 'King, 31 Kan. ’708, 3 Pac. 565.)’ - - - ’.....</p> <p>2. Same — Unguarded Revolving Knives — Negligence—Personal Injuries. Where the evidence tended to show that the plaintiff’s Injuries were directly .caused, by the. failure of the defendant to furnish a guard for the revolving knives of a planer, in compliance with the provisions of section 4 of the factory act (Gen. Stat. 1909, § 4679), and it was shown that the machine was designed and intended to be provided with a device known as a “shavings exhaust,” consisting in part of an iron hood placed directly over the knives, and that this device was not on the machine when the plaintiff was injured but was installed shortly afterwards. Held that the purpose for which the device was designed and used was immaterial, since it conclusively appeared that when in place it served as a guard, and that if it had been in place it would have covered the knives so that the accident could not have occurred.</p> <p>8. Same — Practicable to Guard the Knives. Upon the facts stated in the opinion, it is held that there was sufficient evidence to show that it was practicable to guard the knives in the manner suggested in the preceding paragraph