Lewis' Admr. v. Taylor Coal Co.

66 S.W. 1044, 112 Ky. 845, 1902 Ky. LEXIS 238
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedMarch 5, 1902
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 66 S.W. 1044 (Lewis' Admr. v. Taylor Coal Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lewis' Admr. v. Taylor Coal Co., 66 S.W. 1044, 112 Ky. 845, 1902 Ky. LEXIS 238 (Ky. Ct. App. 1902).

Opinion

Opinion op the court by

JUDGE PAYNTER

Appirming.

\

The appellee is a corporation engaged in. the business of mining and selling coal. The intestate, H. W. Lewis, was a coal miner. While in the employ of the appellee he received injuries from the effects of which he died. This action was brought to recover damages resulting from the injuries received. Omitting formal parts, the petition reads as follows: “(3) That in May, 1898, it had in its employment a large number of miners and mine laborers, all of whom were members of a secret organization called the ‘Miners’ Union,’ and were on that account known and designated as ‘union men,’ in contradistinction to miners and mine laborers who were not members thereof, and who were designated ‘nonunion men.’ About this time these union miners became dissatisfied with the management of the defendant’s mines, or with the am.ount of wages they were being by it paid for their services, and left its employment on a strike; refusing not only to work themselves, but to permit others to work at, in, or about these mines, until their differences with the defendant corporation could be adjusted. So openly and to such an extent did they show their determination that no one should be employed to fill their places in or about the mines, that they publicly and boldly threatened to take the life of any man [848]*848or men who should come there and attempt to do any character of work for the defendant. These threats, and the consequent danger to any nonunion men who should attempt to work there for the defendant, were well’ known to it, its superintendent and agents. Shortly after this strike was inaugurated, the defendant attempted to, and did, hire the services of a large number of nonunion men, 'and brought them to its said mines, in order with them to carry on its business; but these men were, with threats of violence and force, frightened from their labor and driven from the place. These facts were, as a matter of course, well known to and by the defendant and its agents, as at this time the locality of the mines was under the domination of the strikers, and men who attempted to work or labor for the defendant were intimidated and awed into a submission to their commands and behests. This soon left the mines in a bad and dangerous condition, as the rising of the waters therein, and their great need of being pumped out and drained; was rendering them valueless and unfit for use; and the defendant’s officer^ atad agents fully realized that the property would sioon be ruined and become a dead loss to its owners unless hands could be procux*e(i who would do the work so badly and seriously needed there. (4) That an agent and officer of the defendant company fully authorized to act and make contracts! for it then approached the plaintiff’s intestate, the said H. W. Lewis, 'then a resident of the county of Jefferson, in this State, and without warning him of the trouble of the mines, of the strikes of the miners, of their threats against anyone who would come there to work, of the consequent dan.ger to him which tbe defendant well knew, employed Ihim to go to the mines and work for it, promising and agreeing to give him employment for the space of one' year. Accepting [849]*849this employment a,t the compensation then and there agreed apon, and wholly ignorant of any danger or dangers incident to the work, or on account of the strikers and their threats, his said intestate went to the mines and began work. After a few days, during which time he had been superintending a number of men who were draining the mine, he was warned by a committee of the strikers that they would not allow him to work for the- defendant. These facts and the language .and the threats of the said committee his intestate at once communicated to the defendant’s .superintendent and chief officer, then at the mines, and asked him what he must do. It was well known to the defendant, its officers and -agents, that, if this work was stopped then, the mines would become flooded, dangerous and unfit for use, and be thus made utterly worthless; and thusknowing, and realizing the absolute necessity for the continuation of this work, the defendant corporation, by -and through its said 'superintendent and chief officer, then -and there promised, agreed and undertook, in consideration of said Lewis- continuingthe work under the circumstances as herein above alleged, that the said company would hire a sufficient guard or force of men to protect the said Lewis and all the men working under him from any danger or trouble from the strikers; and thereupon said Lewis, relying solely and wholly upon the defendant’s promise to protect him, proceeded again to work, and finished his day’s labor'. The defendant, however, willfully, negligently and wantonly failed and refused to perform its said undertaking, in this: that it did not hire a guard or any number of' men to protect the said Lewds, nor did it, through any of its officers or agents, make any attempt to secure the services of a guard, or in any way to- protect him from the dangers which it well [850]*850knew environed him, and from which, in consideration of his work to save its property from ruin, it had solemnly agreed •and undertook to hold him harmless. (5) He now alleges that after the said Lewis had finished Ms labor for the day, and had gone to his home, a number of the strikers, consisting of about--men, went to the house where he was staying, dragged him therefrom by force, and willfully, unlawfully and without right or reason, beat him on the head with stones, clubs and loaded sticks, by reason of which beating he was permanently disabled and injured, and was confined to his bed for-months, suffering all the time •great bodily pain and mental anguish, and afterwards died by reason of the wounds then and there so by him received, and all of which these strikers were enabled and encouraged to do on account of the defendant’s failure to furnish the guard and protect the said Lewis, which, well knowing the urgent aind crying need therefor, it willfully, wantonly and negligently failed and refused to do. (6) That his said intestate was so assaulted, beat, injured and murdered by these rioters at the defendant’s mines, on its property, and 'although it had due notice of the riot immediately on its breaking out, and although it had promised and agreed to protect the said Lewis, it failed to protect or to make any attempt to protect him, to his damage in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, all of which' occurred on the 31st day of May, 1898, and within twelve months next preceding the filing of this petition.”

At common jaw, although the death of a person was caused by negligence or wrongful act, no cause of action survivéd. Under section 6, Kentucky Statutes, where death results from negligence or wrongful aet, the cause of action ¡survives to the personal representative. Jhe section reads as follows: “Whenever the death of a person shall result [851]*851from an injury inflicted by negligence or wrongful act, then in every such case damages may be recovered for such death from ¿he person or persons, company or companies, corpora,tion or corporations, their agents or servants, causing the same, and when the act is willful or the negligence is gross, punitive damages may be recovered and the action to recover such damages shall he prosecuted by the personal representative of the deceased.” Section 241 of the Constitution, provides that there may be a recovery where death resulted from negligence or wrongful act. At common law, the right of action for the injury to the person abated on the death of the party injured.

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Bluebook (online)
66 S.W. 1044, 112 Ky. 845, 1902 Ky. LEXIS 238, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-admr-v-taylor-coal-co-kyctapp-1902.