Cashman v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours Powder Co.

169 Iowa 306
CourtSupreme Court of Iowa
DecidedMarch 10, 1915
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 169 Iowa 306 (Cashman v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours Powder Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cashman v. E. I. Du Pont De Nemours Powder Co., 169 Iowa 306 (iowa 1915).

Opinion

Weaver, J.

The defendant is a manufacturer of powder begs and plaintiff was employed in its service. At the time in question, plaintiff was operating what is known in the record as a head cutting machine, and while thus engaged, his hand was caught and severely injured in the press or stamp with which the sheet-iron heads for kegs were cut out. This injury he attributes to the negligence of the defendant in providing for this work a machine so worn and out of repair that a slight jar or motion would “trip” it or set it in motion, thereby rendering it unsafe and dangerous, and that while plaintiff was working upon and about said machine and in the exercise of reasonable care on his own part (the machine being thrown out of gear and supposed to be safe) it was jarred into gear and into motion, causing the injury of which he complains. The defendant denies any negligence on its part, and alleges that plaintiff’s injury was caused by his own contributory negligence. The answer further alleges that plaintiff assumed the risk incident to his employment and knew and appreciated the dangers of the work he undertook to do, and is, therefore, not entitled to recover. There was [308]*308a trial to a jury and verdict and judgment for plaintiff in the sum of $1,950.

seevaot?;Anogteer: directing verdict. I. Error is assigned upon the ruling of the trial court in refusing to direct a verdict for the defendant. The grounds of the motion briefly stated were, that plaintiff had failed to prove any negligence on the part of defendant; that he knew the condition of the machine with which he worked and was guilty . .... of contributory negligence in using it; and that he undertook to use the machine as a mere volunteer without the knowledge or authority of his foreman.

There was no error in denying the motion, as none of the matters of fact therein stated and relied upon were admitted and none were established by undisputed evidence. There is evidence in the record tending to show that the machine was not and for a considerable period had not been in good order and was thereby rendered dangerous to the operator, also that plaintiff was authorized and directed by the foreman to use said machine and frequently did use it with both actual and implied consent of the foreman, and that he was not a mere volunteer. The truth of these things was for the jury to consider and determine, as was the further question as to whether plaintiff exercised reasonable care for his own safety.

servant : negligence: assumption of risk: pleading. II. Appellant also excepts to the failure of the court to charge the jury upon the law of assumption of risk as applied to the use of the alleged defective machine. Of this it must be said that the question of such assumption of risk is not in the case. The defense of assumption of the risk arising from a master’s # negligence is an afBrmative defense and to be available must be pleaded as such. The assumption of risk alleged in the answer in this ease is expressly stated to be assumption of the risks “incident to the plaintiff’s employment.” Such assumption is incident to the contract of employment and the servant, as a matter of law, assumes the risks naturally and properly incident to the business or work when conducted by the master with reasonable care for the [309]*309safety of his employees and does not include the risk, if any, arising from the master’s failure to perform his duty. Such assumption does not need to be pleaded and its allegation in an answer adds nothing to the issues which is not raised by a mere denial. Assumption of the risk of the master’s negligence is a different matter and must be pleaded to be of any avail. It is not pleaded in this case. We have had several occasions to discuss this subject, notably in Martin v. Electric Light Co., 131 Iowa 724, and in later cases in which that precedent has been cited and followed. Therefore, the trial court did not err in failing.to instruct the jury in this respect as requested by defendant.

3. Trial : instructions : refusal to give: issues otherwise covered : contributory negligence. III. Nor was there any error in refusing the third request of the appellant upon the subject of contributory negligence. In the 4th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 13th and 16th paragraphs of the charge given by the court on its own motion, the duty of the plaintiff to exercise reasonable care for his own safety and that any failure of duty on his part in this respect would defeat his alleged right to recover damages was stated, repeated and emphasized, and the giving of the additional instruction asked for by appellant was in no manner necessary to the proper direction of the jury.

, m . . issuesrother-' voiunteerered: servant. IV. The same may be said of the point made by appellant that the court should have given an instruction asked upon the theory that plaintiff was a mere volunteer in the use of the machine and undertook to operate it without authority. Whether plaintiff was at work in the line of his duty or within the scope of his employment at the time of his injury was a matter of conflict in the evidence- and therefore for the jury. The machine on which the plaintiff was injured was not the one on which he was regularly or most often employed. According to his testimony, it was a common habit or practice for him and another operator to change machines and this was done with the knowledge and approval of the foreman in charge. He also testified that the change on the day [310]*310of the accident was made at the foreman’s direction. On this subject he was corroborated to a considerable degree by other witnesses. These statements were denied by defendant’s witnesses, though the foreman admitted that he sometimes directed the boys to change or work at different machines. Upon this subject, the court charged the jury as follows:

“If the jury finds from the evidence that in working at and operating the machine at which the plaintiff was injured, he, the plaintiff, was not within the line or scope of his employment or duty, and that the plaintiff had never been directed, or requested by the foreman in charge of the keg shop in question to operate what is called a head cutting machine, but that he, the plaintiff, voluntarily worked at and undertook to operate the head cutting machine in question, and in doing so was injured, then plaintiff cannot recover, and if the jury so finds from the evidence, then it will be the duty of the jury to return a verdict in favor of the defendant, even though the jury finds that the defendant was guilty of negligénce substantially as alleged by the plaintiff.”

In our view this fairly and sufficiently states the law as applicable to defendant’s theory of the facts. Some criticism is directed against the use of the word “never” in the quoted paragraph. It is apparently employed by the court in the sense of “not” and must have been so understood by the jury, and when so read it states the rule of law as strongly in defendant’s favor as it was entitled to demand.

V. The court also instructed the jury as follows:

5. Teial : instructions : “summing up” : fact propositions. “15.

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169 Iowa 306, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cashman-v-e-i-du-pont-de-nemours-powder-co-iowa-1915.