Clark v. Union Iron & Foundry Co.

137 S.W. 577, 234 Mo. 436, 1911 Mo. LEXIS 160
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMay 9, 1911
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 137 S.W. 577 (Clark v. Union Iron & Foundry Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clark v. Union Iron & Foundry Co., 137 S.W. 577, 234 Mo. 436, 1911 Mo. LEXIS 160 (Mo. 1911).

Opinion

WOODSON, J.

— The plaintiff sued the defendants, Union Iron & Foundry Company and the St. Louis & Suburban Railway Company, for the sum of $30‘,000 damages sustained by him for personal injuries received through the alleged joint negligence of the [?]*?said defendants. A trial was had in the circuit court of the city of St. Louis, which resulted -in a judgment for the plaintiff for the sum of $20,000 against the defendant Railway Company, and a judgment in favor of the defendant Iron '& Foundry Company, and against the plaintiff. The Railway Company appealed .to this court from the former judgment, and the plaintiff appealed from the latter.

Because of the condition of the record in this case, it is necessary, in order to properly understand the questions presented for determination, to set out the pleadings on which the case was tried. The petition is as follows:

‘ ‘ The plaintiff by leave of court files his amended petition. The plaintiff states that defendant, Union Iron & Foundry Company, is and at the times herein mentioned, was a corporation by virtue of the laws of Missouri. That at said times defendant, St. Louis & Suburban Railway Company, was and is now a corporation by virtue of the law of Missouri, and occupied the premises and used and operated the poles, wires and electric current herein mentioned, for the purpose of conveying electricity - to various wires as motive power. That electricity is a highly dangerous power when it has contact with a human body and very destructive to human life and limb, as defendants and each of them by their agents herein mentioned, well knew at the time herein mentioned. That on the 17th day of January, 1905, defendant, St. Louis & Suburban Railway Company, was maintaining on its premises at DeHodiamont and Maple avenues, on .or near the dividing line between the city of St. Louis and county of St. Louis, about 180 feet north of Maple avenue, and between said defendant’s power house and the tracks of the Wabash Railroad Company, a pole on which was strung five wires for the conveyance of large quantities of electric fluid as a motive power. That said feed wires were heavily charged with electricity; [441]*441that said pole on which said feed wires were strung was so situated that persons were liable to be near them and liable to be in contact with them and to have objects with which they would work in contact with said feed wires.
‘ ‘ That on said day the plaintiff was in the service of the defendant Union Iron & Foundry Company, as a laborer; that on said day the Union Iron & Foundry Company was employed by the defendant S't. Louis & Suburban Railway Company, in the erection of a coal lift or chute on said premises, and was on said premises of said St. Louis & Suburban Railway Company engaged in said work at the invitation of said St. Louis & Suburban. Railway Company; that whilst the plaintiff was in the due discharge of his said employment he was ordered by the foreman of his employer, the Union Iron & Foundry Company, to go up said pole on which said feed wires were strung, for the purpose of raising and adjusting a guy rope attached to a gin pole so as to have said guy rope above said feed wires; that said foreman had authority from his said employer to command and control the plaintiff as to the work he was to do and the manner of doing the same, and to supply the means and appliances for doing said work; that whilst the plaintiff was on said pole engaged in said work the guy rope block came in contact with a feed wire and became charged with electricity from said feed wire, whereby said electricity so coming from said feed wire through said appliance shocked and burnt and permanently injured the plaintiff upon his hands, legs and body, both of his arms and hands, and the flesh, tendons, leaders and muscles thereof were so burnt and injured as to permanently destroy the use thereof. His left leg and the muscles,, flesh and tendons thereof were so burnt and injured as to permanantly destroy the use thereof. His right leg and the muscles, flesh and tendons thereof were so burnt and injured as to permanently destroy [442]*442the use thereof; and plaintiff was otherwise burnt and injured upon his body, and his nervous system was shocked and wrecked, and he was injured internally. And plaintiff avers that said feed wires were defectively insulated; that the insulation thereof was old, burnt and rotten, and was wholly ineffectual to prevent the escape of electricity from said feed wires, and in such condition as to be a dangerous and de strnctive trap to persons working at and about them. That owing to said defective condition of said wires and their' insulation, said electricity escaped therefrom and injured the plaintiff as aforesaid. That defendant, St. Louis & Suburban Railway Company, was negligent in maintaining said feed wires in such dangerous condition where plaintiff was invited to be at and work about his said work by said defendant, which said negligence of said defendant directly contributed to cause plaintiff’s said injuries.
“And plaintiff further avers that defendant Union Iron & Foundry Company by its foreman so in control of the plaintiff was negligent in ordering the plaintiff to do said work at and about said dangerous and defective wires, when by the exercise of ordinary care he would have known of said danger and of said defective and dangerous condition of said wires, and could have averted said injury to the plaintiff by the exercise of ordinary care, yet neglected to do so, and thereby directly contributed to cause said injuries to the plaintiff.
“That by said injuries the plaintiff has suffered and will suffer great pain of body and mind; has been maimed and crippled for life; and permanently disabled from'labor; has lost and will lose the earnings of his labor; has incurred and will incur large expenses for medicines, medical and surgical attention and nursing; his health and strength is permanently impaired, to his damage in the sum of thirty thousand dollars, for which sum he prays judgment.”

[443]*443To this petition defendant Union Iron & Foundry Company filed its answer as follows:

“Comes now the defendant Union Iron & Foundry Company by its attorneys, and for separate answer to plaintiff’s petition, admits that it is a corpration, organized as alleged in said petition, and admits that plaintiff was in its employ on the 17th day of January, 1905, but denies each and every other allegation in said petition contained.
“And for further answer defendant says that plaintiff received the injuries of which he complains by reason of his own want of ordinary care in allowing the block and tackle which he was hoisting at the time in question to come in contact with the electric feed wire of the defendant St. Louis & Suburban Railway Company, at the time and place in question.
“And for further answer defendant says that plaintiff knew, or by the exercise of ordinary care might have known, of the condition of said wire at the time and place in question, and was in a better position and had better opportunity to know of such condition than had this defendant’s said foreman, and that as far as this defendant is concerned plaintiff assumed the risk of injury therefrom in undertaking the work which he was then and there engaged in doing. "Wherefore, having fully answered this defendant prays to be dismissed hence.”

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Bluebook (online)
137 S.W. 577, 234 Mo. 436, 1911 Mo. LEXIS 160, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clark-v-union-iron-foundry-co-mo-1911.