Schweinforth v. Schwenk-Barth Brewing Co.

153 N.W. 908, 36 S.D. 71, 1915 S.D. LEXIS 114
South Dakota Supreme Court·Decided August 7, 1915·No. File No. 3687·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

McCOY, P. J.

This action was brought by plaintiff against the defendant corporation to recover damages for personal injury alleged to have been sustained by him by reason' of defendant’s negligence while he was in the employment of' defendant. There was a verdict and judgment in favor of plaintiff, and defendant appeals, assigning .as error, among other things, that the evidence was insufficient tio warrant or sustain such verdict. It appears that the appellant was the 'owner of a brewery plant; and that one Larson, a brick mason, was also employed by defendant to rebuild a boiler and to tear down and rebuild the brick and concrete surroundings of such boiler. Respondent was employed by defendant as a common laborer, as a helper in the repairing of said boiler and its surroundings; that as such helper respondent •was recpuired to mix mortar, clean off and carry brick and carry lumber and timbers, and such other work as might be directed or ■required of him by those in charge of said repairing- work. A part of said repair work consisted in the tearing down of a brick [73] wall and removing from; each individual ibrick the old mortar adhering thereto; and in doing such work the said Larson and his assistants used brick chisels to cut brick and remove such mortar therefrom.. Across- the street from where such boiler surroundings were be-ing repaired, and in another -department of appellant’s brewery plant, was a carpenter shop, used generally for the purposes of- repairing and -constructing bar fixtures. This carpenter shop was in charge of one Johnson. In such carpenter shop on a table or bench about fóur or five feet long and three feet wide was a shaft or journal attached by belting to a steam engine, wh-ic'h engine was in charge of one Day. On this shaft or journal was an emery wheel and a circular saw about one foot apart, and so arranged that the saw at any time might easily be removed from the shaft, when the emery wheel was to be used. Respondent testified that on April- 4, 1911, Larson, the brick mason, directed him to go over and sharpen the chisels; that he (respondent) went to the carpenter shop and requested the engineer Day to start the engine; and while respondent was engaged in sharpening said chisels his hand came in contact with the circular saw, and two fingers were cut off. It also appears from the testimony that, some two weeks- prior to the accident, respondent had sharpened chisels for and at th-e request of one Langf'eldt upon this same emery wheel, at which time respondent met Johnson, the carpenter, in the shop; and respondent testified that that was the first time he had examined the emery wheel and the machinery connected with it, and,- that he said to Johnson:

“You ought to- have a guard over them; somebody will get all cut to pieces.’ It is an awfully dangerous place.”

And Johnson replied- that they would put a guard -over them when they had time. Respondent also testified that a day or fwo before -the accident Larson, the mason, requested him to 'sharpen the brick chisels, and that respondent said to- Larson that he did not have time. It does- not directly appear from the evidence to whom the brick chisels ¡belonged; but the strong inference therefrom is that they were the property of Larson, the mason. Larson testified that he used a brick-hammer,- chisel, and trowel and level; that respondent sharpened them; but that he (Larson) had no knowledge prior to the accident that respondent [74] sharpened such tools at the carpenter shop or that there was an. emery wheel and saw in such shop.

We are of the view that the character of the danger arising-from the use of the emery wheel, with the saw on the- shaft, was. so apparently plain and visible and openly patent to any one of •ordinary intelligence, that respondent assumed the risk, thereby-preventing his recovery, under the circumstances of this case.. The evidence clearly shows that he could not help but and did fully appreciate the character of the danger. This case is clearly within the rule announced in Carlson v. Sioux Falls Water Co., 8 S. D. 47, 65 N. W. 419; Berger v. St. P., M. & M. Ry. Co., 39 Minn. 78, 38 N. W. 814; Atlas Engine Works v. Randall, 100 Ind. 293, 50 Am. Rep. 798; Buckley v. Mfg. Co., 113 N. Y. 540, 21 N. E. 717.

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Schweinforth v. Schwenk-Barth Brewing Co., 153 N.W. 908, 36 S.D. 71, 1915 S.D. LEXIS 114 (S.D. 1915).

153 N.W. 908 (Schweinforth v. Schwenk-Barth Brewing Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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