Schnieder v. Raymond

Supreme Court of Connecticut
Schnieder v. Raymond, 136 A. 874 (Conn. 1927)
106 Conn. 72; 1927 Conn. LEXIS 76
Wheeler, Maltbie, Haines, Hinman, Simpson

Schnieder v. Raymond

Opinion of the Court

Wheeler, C. J.

The evidence in behalf of the defendants contradicted practically all of these facts, but none of it reaches the point of creating a belief in the improbability of the evidence offered by the plaintiff. None of it requires us to hold that the jury could not reasonably have reached the conclusion they did upon one or all of the issues of the defendants’ negligence,—■ in changing plaintiff from a nondangerous to a dangerous work without giving him any adequate instruction, in failing to provide proper appliances with which to perform the work, in seeing that only such were used, in failing to furnish proper supervision for the conduct of the work, and in ordering him to carry on the work and to hold the flame from the torch closer to the fuse under conditions which were extremely dangerous. If the jury found the facts in accordance with the evidence offered by the plaintiff, it would follow that the defendants owed a duty to him to provide suitable appliances, which they had not done, Worth v. Dunn, 98 Conn. 51, 118 Atl. 467; that the plaintiff did not assume the risk from the failure of the defendants to provide suitable appliances, Belevicze v. Platt Bros. & Co., 84 Conn. 632, 81 Atl. 339; that he did not assume the risk arising from his transfer to a more hazardous occupation *75 without being instructed as to the especial dangers of the new work, Baer v. Baird Machine Co., 84 Conn, 269, 79 Atl. 673; and that he could not have contemplated and did not assume the risk which arose from instructions to hold the flame of the torch closer to the fuse.

The principal ground relied upon by the trial court in setting the verdict aside was that the plaintiff’s own negligence contributed to the injuries he suffered. Whether the plaintiff had acted as a reasonably prudent man in doing this work and in obeying the directions of his master, who was in the immediate supervision of this work, were questions of fact; it cannot be held as matter of law that the plaintiff was negligent, or that his negligence directly and materially contributed to his injuries, since these issues depended on whether he exercised reasonable care under the many varying circumstances of the case. Farrell v. Waterbury Horse R. Co., 60 Conn. 239, 21 Atl. 675, 22 id. 544; Steinert v. Whitcomb, 84 Conn. 262, 79 Atl. 675.

The defendants further support the action of the trial court in setting aside the verdict by their claim to have established their plea that the parties made a settlement and the plaintiff executed a release of all claims and demands. The plaintiff offered evidence tending to prove that he had executed the release while in the hospital suffering from this accident and when unable to read it and in reliance upon the truth of the representations of defendants that it was merely for the purpose of relieving him from paying the doctors and hospital nurses, and in ignorance that it was a release of the defendants from all claims and demands for damage from his injuries. The plaintiff further claimed to have proved that the inadequacy of the consideration for the release, $577, of which only $144 was for wages, was so unconscionable, coupled with the *76 fact that Raymond knew, when he obtained the release, that plaintiff’s eye-sight was seriously impaired and the sight of his right eye wholly destroyed by this accident, as to justify the conclusion that the release was obtained under circumstances constituting fraud in fact. The verdict of the jury can only indicate that they found the release to have been made under the circumstances as claimed by the plaintiff; if they so found, it was their duty to disregard the release as a valid defense. If they so found, it was inevitable that they draw an inference from its making unfavorable to the defendants upon the main question of their liability. The finding of the circumstances surrounding the making of the release were facts within the province of the jury to find and upon the evidence for them, and not for the court.

There is error, and the cause is remanded with direction to the Superior Court to render judgment upon the verdict.

In this opinion the other judges concurred.

Reference

Full Case Name
Leopold Schnieder vs. Robert O. Raymond Et Al.
Cited By
2 cases
Status
Published