Lehigh Portland Cement Co. v. Bass

103 N.E. 483, 180 Ind. 538, 1913 Ind. LEXIS 148
Indiana Supreme Court·Decided December 9, 1913·No. No. 22,509·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

Myers, J.

Action by appellee against appellant for damages for personal injuries, on account of alleged negligence. The complaint is in one paragraph, and the errors assigned and not waived are, (1) in overruling appellant’s demurrer to the complaint, (2) in overruling its motion for judgment non obstante, and (3) in overruling its motion for a new trial. The complaint is quite lengthy, and we shall not set out any more than is necessary to show its material allegations. It is alleged that appellee was employed as a driller of stone broken from the face of a stone quarry by blasting, and thereby thrown to the floor of the quarry, and broken into various sizes and particles by such blasting, some of the pieces being too large to be loaded on the ears, and too large to be broken up by hammers provided for the car-men to break up stone, so that it might be handled and carted away [540] to a crusher, where it was ground for cement. That the ledge from which the stone was blasted was 70 feet high, and the explosions would cause the front of the ledge to fall over and down on the floor (of the quarry) in great masses and pieces of stone. "When the ledge had been so thrown down it would lie in a rough, jagged surface, not vertical, but sloping back toward the top. That this mass would be composed of loose stones, but of various sizes, from very small pieces to very large masses. In order to transport such stone to the mills it was necessary to break up the larger masses by drilling holes in them, in which explosives were placed, which broke them into smaller pieces, which could be handled. Appellee was employed to drill the holes in these large masses. In order for him to do so it was necessary that he go upon the broken ledge with his drill and stand on and about the mass of stone which was desired to be broken up. These masses were in all parts of the mass thrown down from the ledge, some of them very securely fastened in the ledge; others would not be fastened, but would be in the ledge in such way that they would be likely to break loose and slip from their place, and slip down the ledge, and injure employes working on the ledge. “That the danger and likelihood of such stones falling and slipping from their place could not be determined by an ordinary observation and examination of the same, such as could be made and permitted to be made, and was made by this plaintiff at and before the time of his injuries, and other employes like situated, and working as he worked. That this danger and likelihood of said stone falling and injuring workmen was well known to defendant, and that defendant well knew that plaintiff and others working in the place, and as he worked, could not, and did not know of the likelihood and danger of said stone falling from any observation or examination that could be made while engaged in their service to defendant.” That appellant by making inspection of the place, and of said stones, could have known the danger [541] of the same falling, and by remedying the same or removing such stone prevented any injury to employes and appellee, and it was the duty of appellant to make said inspection, in order that it might exercise reasonable care and diligence in providing a safe place for appellee and others like situated as he to work and perform their service. That all of such duty appellant, at and before the time of appellee’s injuries, negligently and carelessly omitted, and wholly failed to perform, whereby appellee met with his injuries. That while in the employ of appellant at drilling as aforesaid appellee was directed and permitted by appellant to work at a place 20 feet above the floor of the ledge in drilling1 holes in a certain stone there situate, and while performing his duties as such driller a mass of stone weighing several hundred pounds in the ledge above him broke loose and rolled down over and injured him in particulars stated. That the injuries were caused by the negligence of appellant in failing to exercise reasonable care in furnishing appellee a safe place to work and permitting him to work in the unsafe place; in failing to make any sufficient inspection of the place, and of the dangers, and to take any precautions to guard him, or warn him against danger. That appellee did not know that the stones were loose and likely to fall, and appellant did know it, and by the exercise of reasonable care could have known of the danger of the stones falling, and could by the exercise of reasonable care have observed the danger and made the place safe, all of which precautions and duties were negligently omitted.

It is the contention of appellant that the complaint is lacking in direct averment that the place where appellee was at work when injured was unsafe, or that it was a place of danger, and that no facts are pleaded to compel the inference, or presumption, that it was an unsafe place, or a place of danger. In view of our conclusions, it will not be necessary to consider the complaint, for the reason that the answers to the interrogatories disclose no right of recovery, and And [542] the material facts adversely to the allegations of the complaint, conceding that it states a cause of action within the rule announced in Domestic Block Coal Co. v. DeArmey (1913), 179 Ind. 592, 100 N. E. 675, 102 N. E. 99.

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Lehigh Portland Cement Co. v. Bass, 103 N.E. 483, 180 Ind. 538, 1913 Ind. LEXIS 148 (Ind. 1913).

103 N.E. 483 (Lehigh Portland Cement Co. v. Bass) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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