Tomlin v. Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad

265 N.W. 72, 220 Wis. 325, 1936 Wisc. LEXIS 252
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 4, 1936
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 265 N.W. 72 (Tomlin v. Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tomlin v. Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, 265 N.W. 72, 220 Wis. 325, 1936 Wisc. LEXIS 252 (Wis. 1936).

Opinion

Martin, J.

This action is brought under the “safe-place statute,” sec. 101.06, Stats. Said section provides:

“Every employer shall furnish employment which shall be safe for the employees therein and shall furnish a place of employment which shall be safe for employees therein and for. frequenters thereof and shall furnish and use safety devices and safeguards, and shall adopt and use methods and processes reasonably adequate to render such employment and places of employment safe, and shall do every other thing reasonably necessary to protect the life, health, safety, and welfare of such employees and frequenters. Every employer and every owner of a place of employment or a public building now or hereafter constructed shall so construct, repair or maintain such place of employment or public building, and every architect shall so prepare the plans for the construction of such place of employment or public building, as to render the same safe.”

[329]*329Sec. 101.01 (11), Stats., so far as material here, provides that the term “safe” as used in sec. 101.06, Stats., in reference to public buildings, means “such freedom from danger to the life, health, safety or welfare of employees or frequenters, or the public, or tenants, ... as the nature of the employment, place of employment, or public building, will reasonably permit.”

The appellant, as owner of the warehouse in question, owed such duty to the plaintiff as is enjoined by this statute. A place must not only be reasonably safe, as it was required to be by our common-law decisions, but it must be as “free from danger as the nature of the place will reasonably permit.” Bunce v. Grand & Sixth Building, Inc., 206 Wis. 100, 104, 238 N. W. 867; Allison v. Wm. Doerflinger Co. 208 Wis. 206, 210, 242 N. W. 558; Washburn v. Skogg, 204 Wis. 29, 34, 233 N. W. 764, 235 N. W. 437; Rosholt v. Worden-Allen Co. 155 Wis. 168, 174, 144 N. W. 650.

The plaintiff claims that the shelf or bracket with which his head came in contact was so designed, constructed, placed, and maintained as to be unsafe and dangerous to frequenters, licensees, and the employees of the Brown County Warehouses, Inc. It is further claimed that at the time in question the portion of the warehouse adjacent to the space leased to the Brown County Warehouses, Inc., was poorly lighted, and the columns, particularly the brackets thereon, were not painted so as to attract the attention of frequenters and persons on said premises to the location, position, and danger of said brackets. Several witnesses testified relative to the design and location of this fire-extinguisher shelf or bracket on the steel “I” beam.

Fred Sloan, a witness for the defense, testified that he was a division engineer employed by the defendant railroad company, and prior to May, 1931, had charge of the Green Bay division. On cross-examination he testified that the fire-[330]*330extinguisher bracket could be placed between the flanges of the “I”' beam; that if so placed there would be less projection, which would be an element of safety. He further testified as follows:

“Q. So if this bracket was knee level up here and the fire extinguisher stood above it would be up here, wouldn’t it? A. Yes.
“Q. And you think you would stumble over that? A. No, not if it was that high.
“Q. You would have a hard job stumbling over it? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. Then it would be safer', wouldn’t it? A. I expect it might be.
“Q. With reference to the ease of using it, it would be easier to use on that level? A. It would be easier to lift the fire extinguisher off the bracket.
“Q. Now, Mr. Sloan, you realize as an engineer, designing factories, that the element of projection at eye level is a hazard, especially steel projection, don’t you? A. Why, yes.
“Q. Would it be possible to cut this off and round it so there wouldn’t be any square corners? A. Yes.
“Q. That would be a practicable manner? A. Possibly.
“Q. And it would hold that fire extinguisher without interfering with it in any way, wouldn’t it? A. Yes, the fire extinguisher is round.
“Q. So this type of bracket could be changed so as to render it more safe and yet have a practicable bracket isn’t that a fact? A. Yes, that is true.
“Q. And it would be reasonably safe having in mind that it was to be used in this kind of a warehouse, is that right? A. Yes, sir.”

Mr. Fleck, a general construction contractor, engaged mostly in industrial construction such as factories and warehouses, testified that he was familiar with the construction of brackets for fire extinguishers; that the bracket in question would be safer if the corners were rounded and if it had a round edge at the bottom; that it would be safer if it were located six or eight inches higher on the “I” beam; and that [331]*331it would be less dangerous if it were located a foot and a half from the floor.

A Mr. Hansen testified that he was engaged in general construction work, was familiar with the construction of warehouses, the location of “I” beams, and with the attachment of brackets to “I” beams; that in his construction work he had put up brackets for fire extinguishers in factories and warehouses. He testified there were different ways in which the bracket could have been made safer; that one simple way would be to have nailed a two-by-four around the edge of the bracket and cut the corners off; that the bracket would be safer if it did not have a square corner. He further testified that the location of the bracket on the “I” beam was more dangerous at eye level than at a lower level.

In Bent v. Jonet, 213 Wis. 635, 639, 252 N. W. 290, this court said:

“The objective of the statute is to insure safety by the broadest sort of provisions with respect to the kind of places affected.”

The appellant’s counsel states in his brief:

“We will for the present purposes of this argument regard Tomlin as a frequenter of the defendant. It is our belief, however, that he was not in the position of a frequenter, but was in the leased premises as an employee of the tenant and that in view of the terms of the lease his sole remedy is against the employer.”

It is conceded that the defendant’s warehouse is a public building within the meaning of the “safe-place” statute. While it is true that the plaintiff was an employee of the Brown County Warehouses, Inc., he was none the less a frequenter of the defendant’s premises when injured. The accident occurred on a portion of the premises not leased to the tenant, but at a place where the employee frequently was in the performance of his work. Whenever the leased premises [332]*332were piled full of sugar, it is admitted that, in order to get from one pile to another, the employees of the tenant were obliged to walk off from the leased premises. The defendant knew the use that was being made of its warehouse beyond the strict confines of the lease.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Paaske v. Perfex Corp.
129 N.W.2d 198 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1964)
Krause v. Menzner Lumber & Supply Co.
95 N.W.2d 374 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1959)
Tiemann v. May
292 N.W. 612 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1940)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
265 N.W. 72, 220 Wis. 325, 1936 Wisc. LEXIS 252, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tomlin-v-chicago-milwaukee-st-paul-pacific-railroad-wis-1936.