Clem v. Chalmers Motor Co.

144 N.W. 848, 178 Mich. 340, 1914 Mich. LEXIS 731
CourtMichigan Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 5, 1914
DocketDocket No. 18
StatusPublished
Cited by32 cases

This text of 144 N.W. 848 (Clem v. Chalmers Motor Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Clem v. Chalmers Motor Co., 144 N.W. 848, 178 Mich. 340, 1914 Mich. LEXIS 731 (Mich. 1914).

Opinions

Moore, J.

This is certiorari directed to the industrial accident board of the State to review an order allowing the claim of Jessie B. Clem, widow of Charles S. Clem, deceased, for the sum of $3,00'0 against the contestant. The claim is made under the employers’ liability act, so called, being Act No. 10 of the Public Acts of the Special Session of 1912.

[341]*341Charles S. Clem sustained injuries by falling while descending from the roof of a building in the course of construction by means of a rope. It is conceded if there is any liability that the compensation of $3,000 is a correct sum to be paid. Following the death of Mr. Clem, an arbitration was had before an arbitration committee, which allowed the claim. An appeal was taken to the industrial accident board, which board affirmed the award of the arbitration committee.

The record shows Mr. Clem had worked for some weeks as a carpenter for the Chalmers Motor Company. On the day of the accident he was assisting in placing roof boards upon a building which was 150 feet wide, 160 feet long, and 19 or 20 feet high from the ground to the eaves. It was a flat roof. Between 9 and 10 o’clock the men were instructed by a sub-foreman to come down from the top of the building for a coffee lunch, so called. The men went to and from the roof in the course of the work by means of a ladder which was attached firmly to the side of the building, extending from the ground to the roof. There were on the roof of the building some loose ropes. These were used for the purpose of raising and lowering material. They were not provided for men to go up and down. On the call being made to come for the coffee, all of the men descended by the ladder but Mr. Clem and two fellow workmen named Sekos and Glaser. Instead of going down the ladder, Mr. Clem picked up one of the loose ropes about 20 feet long and gave one end of it to Sekos, directing him to hold it in his hand. The rope extended over the edge of the roof about seven feet. Taking the rope in his hands, Mr. Clem passed over the edge of the roof and disappeared from the sight of the two men on the roof. If any one saw what happened after that, it does not appear in the record further [342]*342than that Mr. Clem fell and was hurt, receiving injuries which resulted in his death.

The following appears in the record:

“Mr. Kinnane: Now, is it contended that the act of coming down off the building to coffee lunch when they were called by the foreman for that cause was not in the due course of their employment? I am not speaking of the manner of doing it but the fact of their coming down and going back.
“Mr. Rogers: I concede that was a part of his employment.
“Mr. Kinnane: Then it would simmer down to the manner of coming down, would it not?
“A. Yes.
“Mr. Kinnane: That would be the only matter at issue?
“Mr. Rogers: Yes. My point on that matter as to that act: When the man was doing that act he was not in the course of his employment.”

It is the claim of appellant (we quote from the brief):

“(1) Charles S. Clem, the deceased, did not receive a personal injury arising out of and in the course of his employment.
“(2) He was injured by reason of his intentional and wilful misconduct.”

The statute involved here is of such recent date that its construction has never been before this court. Statutes of a similar character are so recent that there is a paucity of decisions relating to them, especially in the American courts. Counsel cite a number of English and Scotch cases, but none of them is on all fours, nor is the principle of law stated in them controlling in the case before us.

The case now in this court is one of first impression. The title of Act No. 10, Public Acts of Special Session of 1912, reads as follows:

■ “An act to promote the welfare of the people of this State, relating to the liability of employers for injuries or death sustained by their employees, pro[343]*343viding compensation for the accidental injury to or death of employees and methods for the payment of the same, establishing an industrial accident board, defining its powers, providing for a review of its awards, making an appropriation to carry out the provisions of this act, and restricting the right to compensation or damages in such cases to such as are provided by this act.”

We quote from the act:

“The people of the State of Michigan enact:
“Part 1.
“Modification of Remedies.
“Section 1. In.'an action to recover damages for personal injury sustained by an employee in the course of his employment, or for death resulting from personal injuries so sustained, it shall not be a defense: (a) That the employee was negligent, unless and except it shall appear that such negligence was wilful; (b) that the injury was caused by the negligence of a fellow employee; (c) that the employee had assumed the risks inherent in or incidental to, or arising out of his employment, or arising from the failure of the employer to provide and maintain safe premises and suitable appliances.
“Sec. 2. The provisions of section one shall not apply to actions to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by household domestic servants and farm laborers.
“Sec. 3. The provisions of section one shall not apply to actions to recover damages for the death of, or for personal injuries sustained by employees of any employer who has elected, with the approval of the industrial accident board hereinafter created, to pay compensation in the manner and to the extent hereinafter provided.
“Sec. 4. Any employer who has elected, with the approval of the industrial accident board hereinafter created, to pay compensation as hereinafter provided, shall not be subject to the provisions of section one; nor shall such employer be subject to any other liability whatsoever, save as herein provided for the death of or personal injury to any employee, for which death or injury compensation is recoverable under this act, except as to employees who have [344]*344elected in the manner hereinafter provided not to become subject to the provisions of this act.”

The appellant elected to come within the provisions of the act.

Sections 1 and 2, pt. 2, of the act, read in part as follows:

“Section 1. If an employee who has not given notice of his election not to be subject to the provisions of this act, as provided in part 1, section 8, or who has given such notice and has waived the same as hereinbefore provided, receives a personal injury arising out of and in the course of his employment by an employer who is at the time of such injury subject to the provisions of this act, he shall be paid compensation in the manner and to the extent hereinafter provided, or in case of his death resulting from such injuries such compensation shall be paid to his dependents as hereinafter defined.
“Sec. 2.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
144 N.W. 848, 178 Mich. 340, 1914 Mich. LEXIS 731, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clem-v-chalmers-motor-co-mich-1914.