Selhaver v. Dover Lumber Co.

169 P. 1169, 31 Idaho 218, 1918 Ida. LEXIS 13
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 4, 1918
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 169 P. 1169 (Selhaver v. Dover Lumber Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Selhaver v. Dover Lumber Co., 169 P. 1169, 31 Idaho 218, 1918 Ida. LEXIS 13 (Idaho 1918).

Opinion

RICE, J.

This is an action to recover damages for personal injury sustained by the respondent while operating a rip-saw in the mill of appellant. The complaint alleges that the respondent had not had any experience with said saw, or any saw similar thereto, but that notwithstanding said fact the appellant negligently directed him to work in and about said saw without giving him any instructions relative to the proper way in which to feed the same or to protect himself from injury. The complaint also alleges negligence in the appellant, in that the feed-rollers and saw were old, defective and out of repair, and that the saw was not shielded or guarded, and that because of the inexperience of the respondent and the old worn-ont and unguarded condition of the said rollers and saw, the left hand o£ respondent came in contact with the saw, whereby three fingers of his hand were cut off.

The answer denied the material allegations of the complaint, and alleged that the respondent voluntarily assumed the risk of injury, in the manner in which the same was sustained by him, and also that the injuries received by him were the result of his own negligence proximately contributing thereto.

The evidence shows that the respondent was injured on or about September 10, 1914; that he was twenty years of age at the time of the accident; that he had been working in appellant’s mill four or five months prior thereto; that he had operated the rip-saw off and on during that time, and had operated it continuously for ten or twelve days prior to the accident; that the lumber he was sawing was known as “cull” lumber; that the same was uneven and did not feed regularly through the feed-rollers, but would at times stop, [223]*223at which times it was customary for the respondent to place his hand upon the board and force it toward the saw until the feed-rollers again engaged the lumber and automatically fed the same; that at the time of the accident respondent was ripping a board 2x10 — 12 ft. long, into pieces 2xé and 2x6.

The rip-saw was equipped with two feed-rollers, the one behind the saw being a corrugated roller and the one in front of the saw being what was called a spiked feed-roller. The two feed-rollers were so connected that both moved at the same time and at the same rate of speed and so that the two would stop together.

Respondent testified that the saw was not in good working order; that for some days prior to the accident it had been warped, or buckled, to some extent; that the feed-rollers were defective, and that he had known them to be defective ever since he started to work on the saw; that when the lumber would stop feeding the saw would continue to revolve and that the friction of the saw against the lumber would cause it to heat, bend and warp. Respondent is the only witness who testified as to the manner in which the accident occurred. His testimony is as follows:

“I ran the plank up to the saw there, about three feet stuck back from the saw, and I put this hand on it like that and shoved it and when I went to shove it it came along there —jerked and drove the plank up on the guide here and throwed my hand — throwed my hand over onto the spike feed there and that took my hand onto the saw.”

In answer to a question propounded by his counsel the respondent stated that the board jumped two feet and that his hand was caught a few seconds after the board jumped. Respondent also testified that he had quit school at the age of seventeen; that he had passed through the eighth grade and was fairly bright in his classes.

Actions of this nature are predicated upon negligence upon the part of the employer, and failure to prove such negligence defeats the action. In the case of Wiesner v. Bonners Ferry Lumber Co., 29 Ida. 526, 160 Pac. 647, L. R. A. [224]*2241917C, 328, the court, quoting with approval from the case of Armour Co. v. Russell, 144 Fed. 614, 75 C. C. A. 416, 6 L. R. A., N. S., 602, stated the duty resting upon the employer in the following language: “The limit of his duty is to exercise ordinary care, having regard to. the hazards of the service, to provide the servant with reasonably safe working places, machinery, tools and appliances, and to exercise ordinary care to maintain them in a reasonably safe condition of repair.”

In this case there was evidence of a defective condition of the machinery to go to the jury under the foregoing rule. Taking respondent’s version of the matter, the question of his inexperience becomes unimportant, for the injury in this case was not due to his unskilfulness or his lack of knowledge. (Arizona Lumber & Timber Co. v. Mooney, 4 Ariz. 366, 42 Pac. 952.)

Notwithstanding the defective character of the machinery,. an employee assumes the risk of his employment where it is shown that he knew of the defective character of the appliances with which he was working, or that the defects were so patent and obvious that with reasonable attention he should have known of their existence, and where he comprehended the danger incident to the defective condition of the machinery, or as a reasonably prudent person should have comprehended the danger and the risk. (2 Bailey on Personal Injuries, 6th ed., secs. 373-376.)

We must take the version of the respondent in this case or we are reduced to mere conjecture. According to his own testimony he had full knowledge of all the defects that were shown to exist.

According to his testimony the injury was caused by the jumping of the plank upon the guide, or the jumping of the board forward for a distance of about two feet, or by the combination of the two circumstances. It was shown that if the feed-rollers were properly adjusted, it would be impossible for the board to jump upon the guide. The respondent testified that he knew how to adjust the feed-rollers; that he had a wrench for that purpose, and that he [225]*225adjusted them as often as they needed adjustment. He thus assumed the duty of keeping them properly adjusted. He also testified that the back roller had been loose and out of adjustment for two or three days prior to the accident, and also that he knew before the injury occurred that the front or spiked roller was loose. Under such circumstances, in so far as the injury was due to the jumping of the board upon the guide, it was the result of his own negligence in not keeping the feed-rollers properly adjusted.

As to the circumstance of the board jumping forward a matter of two feet, it was shown that the saw was circular, fourteen inches in diameter and somewhat worn; that it extended above the table between three and four inches, and that the motion of that portion of the saw above the table was toward the operator. It is evident that the entire force applied by the revolving saw tended to push the board back toward the operator. "When the feed-rollers engaged the board, it would move forward with the speed of the roller and at no greater speed. If the board jumped forward about two feet, as testified to by the respondent, it must have been due to the force applied by the respondent himself. Respondent knew that the revolving saw was dangerous and that his hand would be cut if it came in contact therewith. He also knew that the spiked feed-roller would draw his hand into the saw in case he permitted his hand to become engaged by the roller. To apply force enough to a board to cause it to jump forward against a revolving saw, in view of the obvious danger of such action, would be contributory negligence on the part of any person of ordinary intelligence.

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Bluebook (online)
169 P. 1169, 31 Idaho 218, 1918 Ida. LEXIS 13, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/selhaver-v-dover-lumber-co-idaho-1918.