McDonnell v. Orinoka Mills
McDonnell v. Orinoka Mills
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This action was brought by the plaintiff to recover damages for injuries which he sustained while working at a cloth-drying machine of the defendant company. The difficulty with the plaintiff’s case is that he has failed to show the negligent act on the part of the defendant which produced his injuries. Where one seeks to recover for injuries caused by the negligence of another he must show not only the negligent act but also that it produced the injuries of which he complains. If he alleges that his injuries resulted from a defective machine he must show that the defect produced the injuries. The mere happening of an accident to an employee while using the appliance furnished by the employer raises no presumption that the appliance is defective or the employer is negligent.
The plaintiff testifies that on the occasion of the accident he attempted to put the cloth on the upper roller which “gave a kind of a quiver and a downward shove and it carried my hand in around.” In attempting to extricate his left hand his right arm and hand were caught between the cloth and the upper roller. He explains that by a “quiver” he meant a “shake” and that by an “undershot down” he meant a swift movement of the machine. In other words, his testimony is in effect that when he attempted to put the cloth around the upper roller it suddenly started. There is no evidence in the case to show what caused the sudden starting of the roller. As said' by the learned judge of the court below “what actually caused the roller to move as it did on the day of the occurrence is left to surmise.”
This case is similar, in some of its features, to Hemscher v. Dobson, 220 Pa. 222. There, the plaintiff testified that while she was taking yarn off a reeling machine, which she had stopped, it suddenly started and her hand was drawn in. This court sustained a nonsuit on the ground that there was no evidence to show what caused the machine to start, nor proof of any defect, and nothing in the nature of the accident which is suggestive of the conclusion that the employer had failed in his duty in furnishing a reasonably safe appliance. Greiser v. Eddystone Manufacturing Company, 227 Pa. 375, was an action to recover damages for injuries received in a cloth-drying machine. It was there also held that there could be no recovery as it was not made to appear that the injuries resulted from a defective machine.
The judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- McDonnell v. The Orinoka Mills
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- 5 cases
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- Published
- Syllabus
- Negligence — Master and servant — Unexplained accident — Evidence — Judgment n. o. v. 1. Tbe mere happening of an accident to an employee, while using an appliance furnished by an employer, raises no presumption that the appliance is defective or the employer is negligent. If the employee alleges that he has suffered injuries, resulting from a defective machine, he must prove that the defect'produced the injuries. 2. In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff, who was an employee in defendant’s mill, assigned to work at a cloth drying machine, testified that, while adjusting cloth around a roller of the machine, which was supposed to remain stationary during this operation, the roller suddenly started to revolve, injuring him; that there was a tight and loose pulley at the end of the roller, and that the belt was on the loose pulley at the time; that the tight and loose pulleys were uneven, and he thought on this account the belt must have shifted automatically from the loose to the tight pulley. It was an admitted fact that the roller ceased to revolve immediately after plaintiff’s arm and hands had been caught, and there was no evidence to show what caused it to start. Held, the lower court correctly entered judgment for defendant n. o. v., owing to the entire absence of evidence as to the cause of the accident.