Malech v. Cudahy Packing Co.

132 N.W. 953, 152 Iowa 513
Supreme Court of Iowa·Decided October 24, 1911·Published

Opinion

Deemer, J.

The only grounds of negligence submitted to the jury were the following:

That the plaintiff was, and is, unable to speak or understand the English language; that he had never worked with or operated such a machine, or one of similar character before that time, and was wholly and entirely unacquainted with the same or its construction, operation, or workings, and did not know or appreciate any of the dangers incident thereto, and that he was in no manner instructed by the defendant with reference to the same, or warned of the dangers incident to the operation thereof. That after working and operating said machine for a few minutes the same was stopped by reason of being clogged by a piece of skin or some other obstruction, and it became the duty of the plaintiff to remove said obstruction from the knife, and that while engaged in so doing, and without any fault or negligence on the part of the plaintiff, his hand was caught in said machinery, and the first two joints of the little and fourth fingers, and the first joint of the middle finger of his right hand, were cut off, and the hand twisted and stiffened, and rendered out of shape. That said injuries were caused by the carelessness and negligence of the defendant in directing and requiring the plaintiff, who was then and there inexperienced in the operation of such machines, to work with and operate the same, without first instructing him as, to the construction and operation thereof, and warning him of the dangers incident thereto, and that the plaintiff did not, by any negligence or want of ordinary care on his part, directly contribute to produce said injuries.

In defense defendant pleaded that plaintiff was a mere volunteer, and was not ordered to work about the machine; that he was himself guilty of negligence contributing to his injury; and that he assumed the risk incident to work about the machine. On these issues and [515] the testimony adduced, the jury' returned a verdict for the plaintiff. Aside' from one ruling on the admission of testimony, the only question presented by this appeal is whether or not there was sufficient testimony to justify the verdict; the defendant insisting that the testimony not only shows no negligence on its part, but affirmatively discloses contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff, and that he assumed all risks incident to the use of the machine.

cross- ’ examination. I. The ruling on the admission of testimony has reference to the cross-examination of one of plaintiff’s witnesses. This witness testified to the appearance and character of the machine, and incidentally referred to the fact that plaintiff and one of . his attorneys were with him when he made the examination thereof, for the purpose of describing it to the jury. On cross-examination he was asked as to what plaintiff said at this time regarding how the accident occurred; objections were made to this line of examination, but these were overruled. Plaintiff then made the following motion: “Plaintiff moves the court to strike from the record any statements made by the witness as to statements made by the plaintiff to him with reference to this accident or its occurrence, which statements were claimed by this witness to have been made in the packing house this morning.” Upon this motion the court made the following ruling: “I don’t remember any that' were in there, except such as were made in explaining about this machine, and the operation of the machine which he has attempted to describe here. If there are any other than those, they may go out. (Motion and objection sustained. Defendant excepts.)” Manifestly there was no error here. What plaintiff may have said at this time as to how the accident occurred was not cross-examination, and the ruling was even more favorable to defendant than it was entitled to.

[516] II. The burden of defendant’s argument on this appeal is that the testimony shows, without substantial dispute, plaintiff’s contributory negligence, and his assumption of the risk incident to the use of the machine. That a jury was justified in finding that plaintiff was-ordered to work with the machine without any instructions or warning, and that work about the machine was dangerous, is practically conceded. Indeed, defendant’s main contention is based upon the proposition that the machine was so dangerous, that any man of ordinary prudence and care would have seen and appreciated the danger. The record does not disclose very clearly the appearance and construction of the machine. We here quote about all the testimony there is on that subject:

This machine has three or four knives that cut the fat into strips, and only one knife that takes the skin off. . . . And that knife that takes the skin off is right flat down on the table of the machine? A. Well, the opening where they put the meat in there, that fits right through the knife, and it is pretty hard to notice the knife. It is just a little ways out, so it is pretty hard to notice there is a knife there. There is a drum of the machine that rolls around, and the knife on the table of the machine is on the under side, and it is pretty hard to notice it. . . . Q. Now, when this fat is pulled underneath these round knives, what does it go against to take the fat off of the skin? A. Well, first the meat catches some of the hooks, and when it turns around a little it comes in contact with about three or four knives, and when it comes to the last knife it takes the skin off. . . . Q. When it is taking the skin off, the knife is between the fat and the skin, isn’t it? A. Yes. Q. The fat runs on top of the knife, doesn’t it? A. Yes; the fat is top, and the skin comes under the knife, underneath. Q. When there is no fat' there, the knife is not covered up ? A. No. ... I know how the pieces of fat are fed into the machine. There are teeth that cut the pieces there when they are put in, and then there is some kind of a roller there that rolls it over, and a knife that cuts the meat in slices, and the meat goes over [517] the machine and under the knife. I have seen the machine clog up. I have seen the man stop the machine when it clogged up. . . .

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Malech v. Cudahy Packing Co., 132 N.W. 953, 152 Iowa 513 (iowa 1911).

132 N.W. 953 (Malech v. Cudahy Packing Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.