McClaugherty v. Rogue River Electric Co.

140 P. 64, 73 Or. 135, 1914 Ore. LEXIS 94
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedApril 7, 1914
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 140 P. 64 (McClaugherty v. Rogue River Electric Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McClaugherty v. Rogue River Electric Co., 140 P. 64, 73 Or. 135, 1914 Ore. LEXIS 94 (Or. 1914).

Opinions

Mr. Justice Bean

delivered the opinion of the court.

The part of the Employers’ Liability Act particularly applicable provides as follows: “In the transmission and use of electricity of a dangerous voltage full and complete insulation shall be provided at all points where the public or the employees of the owner, contractor or subcontractor transmitting or using said electricity are liable to come in contact with the wire, and dead wires shall not be mingled with live wires, nor strung upon the same support, and the arms or supports bearing live wires shall be especially designated by a color or other designation which is instantly apparent and live electrical wires carrying a dangerous voltage shall be strung at such distance from the pole or supports as to permit repairmen to freely engage in their work without danger of shock.” Then [141]*141follows the provision: “And generally, all owners, contractors or subcontractors and other persons having charge of, or responsible for, any work involving a risk or danger to the employees or the public, and shall use every device, care and precaution which it is practicable to use for the protection and safety of life and limb, limited only by the necessity for preserving the efficiency of the structure, machine or other apparatus or device, and without regard to the additional cost of suitable material or safety appliance and devices.” Section 4 of the act is as follows: “If there shall be any loss of life by reason of the neglects or failures or violations of the provisions of this act by any owner, contractor, or subcontractor, or any person liable under the provisions of this act, the widow of the person so killed, his lineal heirs or adopted children, or the husband, mother, or father, as the case may be, shall have a right of action without any limit as to the amount of damages which may be awarded.”

Plaintiff complains that defendant violated the statute in the following particulars: (1) That the wires were not insulated where the employees were liable to come in contact with them; (2) that dead wires were mingled with live wires; .(3) that the electric wires were so close to the poles that the workmen engaged in their work were in danger of a shock; (4) that the arms or supports bearing the live wires were not properly designated by color or otherwise; (5) that the cut-off switches were not near enough to the required work to make the use of the same practicable, and that an experienced electrician, should have been immediately present to superintend and warn the operator, and that it was necessary for the company to have rules and specific regulations for the protection of the employees, directing how the work was to be done. It [142]*142is sufficient to say that the evidence tended to show a failure on the part of the defendant to comply with the terms of the statute, which is negligence per se: Peterson v. Standard Oil Co., 55 Or. 511 (106 Pac. 337, Ann. Cas. 1912A, 625); Burroughs v. Curtiss Lumber Co., 58 Or. 270, 275 (114 Pac. 103); Morgan v. Bross, 64 Or. 63 (129 Pac. 118).

Mr. Loder, superintendent of the company, when questioned hy a juror, testified:

“Q. Let me ask — did you, as superintendent of construction, tell this boy he should cut the current off to make connection with hot wires?
“A. No; I didn’t tell him to do so. * *
“Q. Is it your judgment to-day that it wasn’t lack of judgment on McClaugherty’s part in failing to turn off the current?
“A. Well, as I feel to-day, and as I felt then, is tempered by experience of subsequent things that have happened. I might say to-day that a man ought to have pulled those plugs, where, at that time, I might have — I certainly did feel that he was perfectly able and perfectly capable to do that job, and I may have felt and possibly said that it was all right.
“Q. Yes; I understand there are things happened to change your judgment. I will ask you if now, to-day you would tell him, James McClaugherty, to turn that current off, or do the job hot or cold?
“A. You bet your boots I would tell him to turn that current off.
“Q. Did you tell him?
“A. No, sir.
“Q. And the company didn’t have any rules whether a man was to turn the current off, hot or cold?
“A. No, sir; they did not.”

1. A1 Wright, witness for plaintiff, testified in part that he had been engaged in the electrical work for 2 years, having worked for the defendant under superintendent Loder for the past 13% months; that [143]*143lie and James McClaugherty worked together quite a bit; that he heard McClaugherty ask Loder for help at the time the former was sent to do the work where the accident occurred; that he went to the place the next day with Mr. Loder, who finished the work in the presence of others; that the witness received the same pay as McClaugherty, and had before this made a live or hot wire connection, but not unassisted. On cross-examination this witness testified in part to the effect that as to whether, if called upon to do the work, and there was means at hand whereby he could protect himself by turning off the electricity from the line, he would do it hot or deaden the line would depend upon circumstances; that in most cases he would have to figure it out himself; that in some cases he would take the safest; and the reason why a man in any instance would take the unsafe way would be on account of the distance he would have to go to kill the line. There was considerable evidence introduced as to how the work should be done, as to the danger, and the fact that a “line is never safe when working alone.” On redirect examination the witness was asked the question: “Q. Well, now, if you received instructions to do this work, you heard the instructions Mr. Loder said he gave, and you found the Opp mine beyond this place running, and the cyanide plant running, and he did not tell you to turn off the power, would you interpret his instructions to mean that you were to do it hot or turn it off?” To this counsel for defendant objected, on the ground that it was incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial; that “it would be his interpretation.” Owing to the particular cross-examination, the court allowed an answer, and defendant saved an exception. The witness answered: “I should judge that he meant to do it hot.” It is contended that [144]*144this was error. It is clear that the information elicited from the witness pertained to the custom of the officers of the company in vogue at the time, and the understanding of the employees as to the manner of directing how the work should be done, and not to the ultimate conclusion to be drawn by the jury. The evidence objected to does not come within the rule in Johnston v. Oregon S. L., 23 Or. 94, 101 (31 Pac. 283). While the form of the question may not be perfect, the answer obtained was no stronger against the defendant than the testimony of the superintendent himself. It will be noticed from the excerpt of his evidence that he did not instruct the decedent to turn off the current of electricity, nor does he appear to claim that he expected it would be done. The testimony objected to does not, in effect, materially contradict that of the defendant upon the same subject.

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Bluebook (online)
140 P. 64, 73 Or. 135, 1914 Ore. LEXIS 94, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcclaugherty-v-rogue-river-electric-co-or-1914.