Manhattan Construction Company v. Atkisson

88 S.W.2d 819, 191 Ark. 920, 1935 Ark. LEXIS 392
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedDecember 2, 1935
Docket4-4061
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 88 S.W.2d 819 (Manhattan Construction Company v. Atkisson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Manhattan Construction Company v. Atkisson, 88 S.W.2d 819, 191 Ark. 920, 1935 Ark. LEXIS 392 (Ark. 1935).

Opinion

Mehaffy, J.

Appellee filed his complaint in the Washington Circuit Court against the appellant to recover damages for injury to his right hip, alleging that he was in the employ of the appellant, working under the orders' of appellant’s superintendents and foremen, and alleges the duty of the master to use reasonable care to furnish a safe place to work and reasonably safe machinery, and to maintain the place to work- in reasonably safe condition; that it was its duty to inspect the machinery and to discover and remedy defects. It is alleged that the appellant carelessly and negligently failed to perform each and every one of its duties owing to- appellee, and permitted the appellee to crank the air-compressor when the same was in a dangerous condition, and the condition was unknown to appellee. He also alleged that, the appellant knowing the dangerous condition of the machinery, it was its duty to warn the appellee; that it negligently failed to inspect the air-compressor when an inspection would ■ have disclosed -its unsafe condition, and failed to warn the appellee of the dangerous condition, and failed to! have said condition remedied. He alleges that, under the orders, and directions of his foreman, he undertook to crank the air-compressor, and that, on account of its defective condition, tlie compressor kicked back, threw appellee against said compressor with violent force, striking him on the right hip and other parts of his body; that said lick on his hip caused a deep and serious bruise, produced an aggravated sore; that the ligaments and muscles were torn and bruised, and caused his right limb to perish and permanently injured and disfigured him; that he was caused to -suffer severe physical pain and mental anguish, and on account of said injuries that he would never be able to engage in manual labor as he did before the injury; that before the injury he was a strong, able-bodied man and capable of earning $5 a day or more; that since the injury he had lost his earnings, amounting to $780 to date; that he was damaged in the sum of $2,500.

The appellant filed its answer denying all the material allegations in the complaint and pleading specifically the assumption of the risk and contributory negligence.

Appellant contends first that the complaint was insufficient, and that, construing the evidence in the light most favorable to appellee, it falls far short of showing any defective or dangerous condition of the air-compressor. Appellant made no objection to the complaint in the lower court. It contends now that it stated conclusions of law and not the facts which constituted the negligence. If appellant thought that the complaint was insufficient or defective, it was its duty to either demur or file a motion to make more definite and certain. It did not do either.

Pleadings, under the code, are liberally construed and every reasonable intendment is indulged in favor of the pleader. Holcomb v. American Surety Co., 184 Ark. 449, 42 S. W. (2d) 765.

Where plaintiff’s testimony'' made out a case for damages, a judgment in his favor will not be set aside because his cause of action and the measure of his damages were defectively stated, in the absence of demurrer or motion to make his complaint more specific. St. L. S. W. Ry. Co. v. Tucker, 161 Ark. 140, 255 S. W. 553; Wright Motor Co. v. Shaw, 171 Ark. 935, 287 S. W. 177. Moreover, the evidence was introduced in this case without objection, and the complaint, if defective, would he treated as amended.

The appellee testified that he worked for the appellant on the library building- at University Campus, that he'operated a jack-hammer that rotates a drill for drilling rock; it ivas his duty to crank the machine. He had been doing this four or five weeks before he got hurt, and always had trouble starting the machine in the morning. He reported this to Dick. Burgin, foreman over him, and Mack Trowbridge, who was over him. Both Trowbridge and .Burgin testified that they were foremen, and Trowbridge testified that he reported the injury to Hamblin, the boss. The appellee testified that he was injured by the machine and tried to work on a few days; that he was requested by Burgin to get along some way until he could pick up a man that could take his place; he Avorked about a week, and could not go any longer; after he got hurt, the company put in a new magneto and got it so it Avould crank. He testified at. length about his injury and suffering. He sought and obtained Avork as a skilled man, and they gave him the same kind of work that he had been doing before. He undertook to crank the machine in the same way that he had ahvays cranked one. He knew the machine had been overhauled quite a while before, while on the same job. He Avent to see Dr. Harrison and later went to see Dr. Walker, the company physician. He stated that he was Avilling to be examined by any number of doctors.

Dick Burgin testified that appellee was working under him; he does not remember whether it Avas the same day or the next morning that appellee told him he got hurt; does not remember Avhat he said to him, but thinks he told him to go ahead and do the best that he could. Burgin also testified that it Avas an old machine, and they had 'had trouble Avith it all along on cool mornings; he believed if the spark was retarded enough it would not have back-fired.

Mack Trowbridge testified that appellee was working under him; and that the day before appellee got hurt he complained to him and said he would quit if they did not get the motor fixed; AAdtness reported it to Mr. Hamblin, and he got a man to fix it; took a timer off the shovel and pnt it on the machine; next morning' when appellee went to work and undertook to crank it, it kicked back, struck his hip, and knocked him on the radiator; he could hardly walk.

E. C. Edwards testified in substance that they had two magnetos, one on the shovel and one on the air-compressor, and one, he did not know which, was hard to get timed. They gave him orders to change the magneto- from the shovel to the compressor, which he did. He took the motor loose and it ran, and he then connected it after it got warmed up and started off. The appellant instructed him'to change the magnetos. He himself advanced the spark and then moved it back down.

Nelson Pulp, a witness, testified in substance that he saw appellee when he was injured; he pushed the crank in, started down and it back-fired and threw him into the radiator. He said on cross-examination that he did not know it back-fired, but it did something.

The undisputed evidence shows that the day before appellee Avas injured he not only called attention to the defect in the machine, but stated that he would quit Avork if it Avas not remedied. It was an old machine Avith which they had been having trouble, and immediately before appellee was hurt he was told by his boss that the machine. had been fixed. The evidence also sIioavs that, after the accident the company got a neAv magneto. It also shows that, if in fixing the machine they had retarded the spark, it would not have back-fired or kicked, and he would not have been injured. It is true one of the witnesses SAvears that he did retard the spark, but, according to other evidence, if he liad done so, the injury Avould not have happened.

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Bluebook (online)
88 S.W.2d 819, 191 Ark. 920, 1935 Ark. LEXIS 392, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/manhattan-construction-company-v-atkisson-ark-1935.