McGinn v. North Coast Stevedoring Co.

270 P. 113, 149 Wash. 1, 1928 Wash. LEXIS 647
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 4, 1928
DocketNo. 21208. Department Two.
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 270 P. 113 (McGinn v. North Coast Stevedoring Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McGinn v. North Coast Stevedoring Co., 270 P. 113, 149 Wash. 1, 1928 Wash. LEXIS 647 (Wash. 1928).

Opinions

*3 Holcomb, J.

Respondent sued appellant, a Washington corporation engaged in the stevedoring business, for damages for injuries received while working as a stevedore on board the steamship ‘ ‘ Georgine, ’ ’ while unloading cargo at Seattle, Washington, on March 12, 1926. There was a verdict and judgment for $7,500.

Since the complaint is not attacked by appellant as not alleging liability on the grounds of negligence, except in one particular where it is claimed the evidence offered and admitted by the court departs from the complaint, and another instance in which a specification of negligence was abandoned by respondent at the trial, for the sake of brevity we shall only recapitulate the allegations very briefly.

It was alleged that the personal injuries sustained by respondent occurred while .engaged in discharging cargo under the direction of one Wicks, as foreman, employed by appellant to supervise the work, and that, in prosecuting the work, appellant used the ship’s gear, together with its own appliances, tackle and cargo-hook. These allegations were admitted. The evidence, however, undisputedly shows that the cargo-hook and tackle were furnished by appellant, and taken on board the ship on the morning of the casualty.

It is also alleged that appellant, through its foreman, directed respondent and the other stevedores to remove a certain case of glass, weighing from eighteen hundred to two thousand pounds, from the hold of the ship, and in obedience to such directions, respondent and the other stevedores placed slings around the case of glass to which slings the cargo-hook was attached. To this cargo-hook, was fastened a bull-line, a fall-rope, and a midship-rope, operated by the ship’s winches on deck. The hoisting was done by winch drivers on signals from the foreman; and when the case of glass had been *4 hoisted to a height of approximately two feet, and as the plaintiff and other stevedores were steadying the case of glass, a certain ring broke, letting the cargo fall and causing the tackle and cargo-hook to fall and strike respondent, inflicting the injuries described.

Appellant admitted the allegation as to removing the glass case from the hold; that the work was being done under the direction of Wicks; that, during the progress of the work, the eye in the swivel of the cargo-hook pulled loose, causing certain of the tackle and the cargo-hook to fall and the cargo-hook in falling struck respondent.

The paragraph specifying the negligence of appellant alleged as follows:

(1) That appellant failed to provide and maintain suitable appliances and negligently used a weak and defective ring which the foreman knew, or in the exercise of due care should have known, to be unsafe and unfit for use.
(2) That appellant, through its foreman, negligently failed to inspect the ring before starting the unloading operations when an examination would have revealed the defective condition of the ring.
(3) That appellant carelessly placed too great a strain on the ring by attempting to hoist too heavy a load.

A fourth ground of negligence was specified respecting failure to properly superintend and operate the winches on deck in a careful manner, which, at the conclusion of the respondent’s case, upon motion of appellant, was withdrawn from the consideration of the jury with the consent of respondent.

All these allegations of negligence were denied by appellant.

At the conclusion of the evidence, and before submission to the jury, appellant moved to withdraw the *5 fourth, ground of negligence for want of proof, which was sustained; and after its challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a recovery in favor of respondent had been overruled, moved also to withdraw from the consideration of the jury the third allegation of negligence for want of proof to sustain it. The court refused to grant the motion as to the third ground of negligence.

Appellant affirmatively pleaded that such injuries and damages as respondent sustained were caused by risks of his employment which he assumed, which affirmative answer was denied by the reply.

The evidence shows that the work of unloading was being done through hatch No. 1, and the large case of glass in question was stored about eighteen feet from the hatch on the lower deck, which was about eighteen feet in height. One sling was placed around each end of the case and fastened to a hook which connected with the cargo-ring. To the cargo-ring, was attached a bull-rope or backer-rope, a fall-rope, and a midshiprope, these various ropes being connected with three different winches on deck. The crew had been unloading cargo for about two hours when this casualty happened. The crate of glass in question weighed from eighteen hundred to two thousand pounds. The cases of glass removed previously were of various sizes, but were generally much smaller and lighter than the one which caused the ring or link to break. The crate of glass which broke the ring was about two feet longer than any other crate they had unloaded that morning.

One Ericksen was operating the winch attached to the bull-rope. One Jensen was operating the winch attached to the midship-rope. One Hansen was operating the winch attached to the fall-rope. At the time of the accident, the winch operated by Hansen was stationary. At the hatch on the upper deck, one Free *6 man was hatch tender to give signals to the various winch drivers. The signals were given by hand, the hatch tender getting his signals from the lower deck from the foreman Wicks. With the foreman in the hold on the lower deck were four other workmen and respondent. Two of these workmen got on top of each of the cases, fastening the cargo-hook to the slings, while two others and respondent would work on the floor steadying the cases during the process of removing them from the hold.

A model of the ship substantially showing the situation was introduced in evidence, was before the jury and brought here as an' exhibit. The ring which broke was not produced at the trial, its absence being-explained by the fact that appellant, some months after the accident, sold and transferred its business to another concern and later, when looking for the ring, could not find it.

The mode of operating the apparatus when unloading the cargo from the hold of the ship was substantially as follows: When the wire slings had been placed around opposite ends of the case, a ring, with two pieces of wire cable with small hooks or dogs on each end,' connected with the slings, one dog on each sling; a cargo-hook was attached to the ring and this in turn was connected by ■ swivels to a larger ring-called a cargó-ring. To the upper swivel connecting the cargo-hook to the cargo-ring, was attached a swivel to which was attached a bull-rope; opposite the bull-rope was a midship-rópe which was attached by swivel to the cargo-ring. The load, while being lifted, pulled downward on the cargo-ring, the bull-rope and midship-rope pulling oppositely; so that the strain was sustained by them when the load was raised by operation of the winches.

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Bluebook (online)
270 P. 113, 149 Wash. 1, 1928 Wash. LEXIS 647, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcginn-v-north-coast-stevedoring-co-wash-1928.