Seaman-Dunning Corp. v. Haralson

29 S.W.2d 1085, 182 Ark. 93, 1930 Ark. LEXIS 409
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedJuly 7, 1930
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 29 S.W.2d 1085 (Seaman-Dunning Corp. v. Haralson) 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
Seaman-Dunning Corp. v. Haralson, 29 S.W.2d 1085, 182 Ark. 93, 1930 Ark. LEXIS 409 (Ark. 1930).

Opinion

Mehapfy, J.

This action was 'begun by the appellee against the appellant, a corporation, to recover damages for an injury alleged to have been received because of the neg'lig’ence of the appellant. Appellee was in the employ of the appellant, and at the time of the injury was assisting in feeding a shaper machine, at which automobile sills were being manufactured. The machine consisted principally of a table with a metal surface about three feet above the floor and was about five feet long and three or four feet wide. Adjusted to and set in said tatole were two- spindles or vertido axes. That in said spindles or vertical axes were attached knives which revolved at a high rate of speed; the knives were set in metal collars against which the wood to toe cut was pushed; the spindles were about four feet apart, and on a line of about two feet from the south edge of the table. The board out of which the sill was to be made was placed upon and clamped to another heavy board designated the pattern, and said board was shaped to conform to the pattern; the pattern used at the time of the accident was a very heavy board about two inches thick and six or seven feet long and of a width varying from two inches to one foot; there were four handles affixed on the edge of the pattern, two on one end being grasped by the appellee and two at the other end held by a fellow workman. No guards were in front of the handles to protect the hands of appellee or to keep them from coming in contact with the revolving knives. It was the practice of those operating the machine to alternate in pulling said pattern and unshaped ¡board attached thereto across the revolving knives. About three o’clock p. m. while plaintiff was engaged in the ordinary and regular duty assigned to him, he was thrown ag-ainst the revolving knives which permanently injured his hand. Appellee alleged that he was in the exercise of care at the time, and that the injury was due solely to the negligence of the appellant, its agents and employees, in failing to provide adequate guards and owing to the negligence and carelessness of the fellow employee in suddenly jerking the pattern, the handles of which were properly grasped by appellee, throwing appellee against the revolving knives; he alleged that he suffered great pain and anguish and would continue to suffer; that his hand was permanently injured. Prior to the injury, appellee was an able-bodied man, earning good wages and in line for advancement; his earning capacity is permanently impaired. The appellant filed answer, denying each allegation of negligence, pleading assumed risk, negligence of appellee and unavoidable accident.

The appellee testified that the machine was made something like a table, the top covered with some kind of metal, and on the day he received his injury, he and the operator were running sills, appellee being at the small end of the pattern and the fellow servant at the large end. He testified that the fellow servant snatched awfully fast, and that appellee had just told him ten minutes before that he was too fast for him. Appellee had never run the particular machine and had never run sills. The fellow workman had carried him over there, and he had been at work about an hour. That the other workman would give a quick snatch and snatch both of appellee’s hands into the knives. There were four handles on the pattern, all on the back edge. In running these things you are required to hold your hand a certain way. There is no possible way to hold the handles unless you grip them; the fellow servant, when he pulled, had been snatching. Appellee had been working for the company about a year; worked on different things, on different machines, but had not worked on a machine like this one. Appellee worked with Mr. Truhett about one hour before he was injured; he received his orders from Mr. Truhett; Truhett did not tell him how to operate the machine. There was nothing- wrong with the pattern, only there was no guard there, no protection. When Truhett snatched it, he snatched it out of appellee’s hand; when it hit his hand, it knocked him back. There was a guard on one handle, but not the handles that appellee was using. The physician testified about the injury and the extent of it, and said that his right hand was about ten per cent, useful. He doubted if any treatment which could be given would relieve the stiff condition of his fingers.

Frank McWilly testified that he was in the employ of appellant and was cleaning up near the machine where Haralson was employed; was present when Haralson was injured and was looking at the man handling that machine, was attracted byi the manner in which he was performing his work; he was just like a shot out of a Winchester gun, .jumping up this way fast as he could, and Lisbon’s hand got into the machine and was injured. There was not any guard on the machine in front of the right handle. It seemed to him that Haralson had a firm grip. This witness never worked at a machine like the one at which Haralson was at work.

Truhett, who was working with Haralson, operating the shaper, testified that Haralson took orders from him; that he supposed Haralson’s hand slipped off; that he had cautioned him before that; had told him if he was not careful Ms hand would slip off and go into the knives, and that tMs was what happened; he testified that he did not snatch it or jerk it, and he also testified that Haralson did not tell him he was working too fast. He was running the machine slow. He said you could not make the sills correct by jerking and snatching it. He testified that the guard at the end is to keep chips and splinters from hurting your hand; that if there had been a guard it would not have kept appellee’s hands from, going into the knives; that there was no necessity for the guard; that he was not jumping and going from side to side, and that he could not have cut the pieces correctly in any such manner. If he had jerked it, it would not have been cut smooth. The reason the guard is placed there is to prevent shavings coming on the handle; had known Haralson ever since he had been at work there; had never worked on a shaper machine, but they had been working on the box shaper once, but that had been quite a while ago. The knives cannot out beyond the pattern. The cuff holds it away from the knife. That he was not working fast and was watching Libson to see that he held it up there right. He testified that Haralson was experienced on shapers; that, when they pulled it to one another, quite a bit of the pattern extended over the table, and you had to hold it up. Haralson was called a helper. The table was in good shape with a steel top.

Other employees of the appellant testified, in substance, that a guard was unnecessary, and corroborated Truhett as to the manner in wMch the work had been done in order to cut the sills properly; that if it was jerked through fast, it failed to cut clean. There was no guard on the end, the other end does not have it because it is not considered necessary. On the other patterns, some have a guard on the outside handle and some don’t. They do not put guards on to protect the hands of workmen; it would not involve a great expense to put on a guard; the effect of the guard would depend upon what kind of guard was up there. The machine was proper and safe. Other witnesses testified to substantially the same facts as Truhett.

The evidence as to the negligence of the fellow.servant is conflicting. All agree, however, that there was no guard to protect the hands of the operator.

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Bluebook (online)
29 S.W.2d 1085, 182 Ark. 93, 1930 Ark. LEXIS 409, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seaman-dunning-corp-v-haralson-ark-1930.