208 Mass. 68 | Mass. | 1911
The defendant contends there was no evidence to support the allegations of the declaration, that at the time of the accident the plaintiff was in the employ of the defendant, or to show that one Steadman, who was using the Babbitt maul,
The plaintiff testified that when working as an apprentice in the employ of the defendant, he knew that Babbitt mauls were made as called for by the workmen, and, because of the softness of the metal and the use to which they were put, the faces easily became battered and the iron handles loosened in the socket. If subjected to hard usage, he said, a maul might become unsuitable “ in a couple of days,” and the uncontradicted evidence very plainly showed, that mauls were constantly changing as to their condition, and large and small pieces, or chips, would fly from them when brought in contact with the steel arbors, planers, and other machinery upon which they were used. The defendant was required to use reasonable diligence to supply suitable mauls, and to provide for their renewal when they became defective from use. Cormo v. Boston Bridge Works Co. 205 Mass. 336. If the defendant had undertaken to furnish a sufficient number of perfect mauls from which the workmen might select, and among the number was a defective
The rulings requested should have been given, and in accordance with the terms of the report the verdict for the plaintiff must be set aside and judgment entered for the defendant.
So ordered.
A maul made of a kind of metal alloy named for Isaac Babbitt, its inventor.