The King Gruffydd

Citations

• 131 F. 189
• 65 C.C.A. 495
• 1904 U.S. App. LEXIS 4275

Syllabus

<p>1. Shipping — Injuries to Stevedore — Appliances — Selection — Fellow Servants.</p> <p>Wliere a stevedore was injured during tlie raising of a skid weighing something more than a ton from a lighter, by the breaking of a wire cable known as a “topping lift,” and it appeared that such lifts, when in apparent good condition, as was the one in question when selected, were capable of lifting 20 tons, the servant who selected such lift was not guilty of negligence in selecting it, instead of selecting a chain span, which was used for heavier loads.</p> <p>2. Same — Appliances—Inspection.</p> <p>A stevedore was injured by the breaking of a topping lift furnished by the vessel for use in raising a skid from a lighter. Such appliance consisted of a wire cable bent round a concave ring and spliced; the splicing being served with spun yarn, wrapped with bagging and saturated with oil. The appliance in question, instead of being carefully stowed between voyages, had been permitted to remain on deck, exposed to the weather, during several voyages to West India ports, which tended greatly to shorten the period within which it could be safely used. Held, that the master of the ship was guilty of negligence in permitting such lift to be used after a mere external inspection, without a periodic examination of the splice, and a renewal of the oiled service intended to protect it.</p>