Emerson Brantingham Co. v. Growe

133 N.E. 919, 191 Ind. 564, 1922 Ind. LEXIS 15
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 17, 1922
DocketNo. 24,097
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 133 N.E. 919 (Emerson Brantingham Co. v. Growe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Emerson Brantingham Co. v. Growe, 133 N.E. 919, 191 Ind. 564, 1922 Ind. LEXIS 15 (Ind. 1922).

Opinion

Ewbank, C. J.

Appellee recovered a judgment against appellant for damages for the loss of an eye, alleged to have been destroyed by a flying sliver of steel when “a cold cut,” or chisel was struck by a sledge hammer in appellant’s factory. Appellant has assigned as error the overruling of its demurrers to each of the amended first paragraph and the second paragraph of the complaint, and of its motion for a new trial.

1. The amended first paragraph of the complaint alleged, among other things, that the appellant was a corporation engaged in manufacturing farm implements at Columbus, Indiana, and had in its employ in, said manufacturing business more than five persons; that its foreman (naming him) under whom appellee was working ordered appellee to assist certain other employes.of appellant, also under the control of said foreman, to trim up some steel braces for gas engine wheels; that in trimming such braces slivers or pieces of steel would fly from them and strike the workmen who were trimming them in the face and eyes, which fact was known to the foreman but was unknown [568]*568to appellee; that appellee had never engaged or assisted in the work of trimming braces before, and had no means of knowing and did not know that pieces of steel would fly therefrom when they were being-trimmed, nor that the work was dangerous, but that said facts were known to said foreman; that by the' use of goggles the flying slivers could have been prevented from striking appellee in the eyes, but said foreman negligently failed to tell appellee of the danger and negligently ordered him to do said work without giving him any warning of the danger;. that appellee had be'en in appellant’s employ four months and all that time had worked in appellant’s blacksmith shop, doing such work as said foreman directed; that while .he was trimming such braces in obedience to said order a sliver of steel flew from a brace and struck appellee in the eye, and caused the injury sued for; and that said injury was caused by the said negligence of the foreman in failing to warn appellee that slivers- of steel would fly from the braces while they were being trimmed. The ignorance and inexperience of appellee, and the fact that the minute pieces of flying steel and the danger of injury from them were not open to observation by one who was ignorant and inexperienced might be more clearly stated, but we think the allegations as to these facts, together with the allegation - of a failure to warn appellee, sufficiently charged negli- . gence to make out a cause of action at common law, as against a general demurrer. The court did not err in its ruling on this demurrer.

2. Averments in this paragraph that appellant employed more than five persons, that appellee was under the control and supervision of appellant’s foreman, and subject to his orders and authority, and that the foreman ordered appellee and his companions to “trim up braces,” at which work he was employed when injured, are relied on by appellee as pleading facts under [569]*569which he would not be chargeable with assumption of the risks of such employment' (§8020c Burns 1914, Acts 1911 p. 145, §3). But it is not alleged that the foreman told him and his companions to use a cold cut or a sledge hammer in trimming the braces. Southern Ind. R. Co. v. Harrell (1903), 161 Ind. 689, 694, 68 N. E. 262, 63 L. R. A. 460; Richey v. Cleveland, etc., R. Co. (1911), 176 Ind. 542, 548, 96 N. E. 694, 47 L. R. A. (N. S. ) 121.

3. Further averments that it was practicable for appellant to supply appellee “with goggles or some other device” to prevent the flying slivers from striking him in the eyes do not make out a cause of action for negligence. There is no statute which requires goggles to be furnished by the employer, the facts alleged do not show that any duty to supply them had been imposed by custom or contract, either express or implied, and no such duty was imposed by the common law in the absence of a.contract. Myers v. W. C. De Pauw Co. (1894), 138 Ind. 590, 593, 38 N. E. 37.

4. The averment that appellant failed to provide “some other device” for the protection of the workman, though it was practicable to do so, is not the statement of any facts at all. Appellee’s argument in support of the complaint as stating a cause of action under the Dangerous Employment Act (§3862d Burns 1914, Acts 1911 p. 597, §4) and the Employer’s Liability Act (§8020a et seq. Bums 1914, Acts 1911 p. 145) is sufficiently answered by the opinion of this court in a case recently decided. Cleveland, etc., R. Co. v. Ropp (1921), 190 Ind. 115, 129 N. E. 475.

5. These averments as to the alleged order given by the foreman, and the failure of appellant to provide “goggles or some other device,” were not material to the only cause of action stated in said paragraph, and did not authorize the introduction of evi[570]*570dence of the facts so'alleged, nor the recovery of damages based on such evidence.

6. The second paragraph of the complaint alleged substantially the same facts as the amended first paragraph except that it said nothing about the “goggles or other device * * * to prevent slivers or pieces of steel from striking plaintiff in the eyes,” and did not charge a negligent failure to warn appellee of the danger. The only negligence which it attempted to charge was that the foreman, with knowledge of the danger that slivers of steel would fly up into the face and eyes of the person striking a cold cut with a sledge hammer, ordered and directed appellee to assist the other workmen “to trim up braces for gas engines.” There were some averments as to what “it was necessary” to do in trimming up the braces, and there was an averment that appellee did not know the pieces of steel would fly nor that the work was dangerous.. But it was not alleged that the foreman nor anybody directed appellee how to do the work, nor that the foreman or the appellant had knowledge of his alleged ignorance of the danger. Merely giving a general order to trim up the braces, under the circumstances alleged, was not actionable negligence, either at common law or under the Employers’ Liability Act, swpm. The court erred in overruling the demurrer to the second paragraph of the complaint.

7. The only sufficient paragraph of the complaint alleged that plaintiff’s right eye was destroyed and that his “eyesight has been greatly permanently impaired by the loss of said eye, and as a result of said injury his sight is weak and uncertain and he is unable to see or to' judge distance clearly and distinctly.” When appellee was testifying as a witness his attorney asked him the question: “If you had any [571]*571trouble with your eyesight in the remaining eye, since the injury, explain what it is?” Over an objection and exception by appellant he was permitted to answer. This was not error.

8. Appellee asked one of his witnesses if he had ever trimmed braces with shears in that factory before appellee was injured, and over an objection and exception by appellant the witness testified that he had, but had “never trimmed braces on the anvil” before the injury. A similar question was asked and answered, over an objection and exception, on the cross-examination of one of appellant’s witnesses. This was error.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Wyler v. Lilly Varnish Co.
252 N.E.2d 824 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1969)
Palmer v. Decker
241 N.E.2d 381 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1968)
Davis v. Louisville & Nashville Railway Co.
173 N.E.2d 749 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1961)
Magenheimer v. State Ex Rel. Dalton
90 N.E.2d 813 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1950)
Kornec v. Mike Horse Mining & Milling Co.
180 P.2d 252 (Montana Supreme Court, 1947)
Palmer v. Great Northern Ry. Co.
170 P.2d 768 (Montana Supreme Court, 1946)
Vesel v. Jardine Mining Co.
147 P.2d 906 (Montana Supreme Court, 1944)
Illinois Steel Company v. Fuller
23 N.E.2d 259 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1939)
McCulloch v. Horton
74 P.2d 1 (Montana Supreme Court, 1937)
Johnson v. Wichita Valley Ry. Co.
104 S.W.2d 128 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1937)
Schaum v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.
78 S.W.2d 439 (Supreme Court of Missouri, 1934)
Morelli v. Great Northern Railway Co.
300 P. 210 (Montana Supreme Court, 1931)
Lafayette Street Railway, Inc. v. Ullrich
166 N.E. 257 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1929)
Noblesville Milling Co. v. Witham
156 N.E. 522 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1927)
Linn Grove Light & Power Co. v. Fennig
154 N.E. 877 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1927)
Berkley v. Burlington Cadillac Co. Inc.
122 A. 665 (Supreme Court of Vermont, 1923)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
133 N.E. 919, 191 Ind. 564, 1922 Ind. LEXIS 15, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/emerson-brantingham-co-v-growe-ind-1922.