227 Pa. 571 | Pa. | 1910
Opinion by
March 28, 1910:
This is an action to recover damages for injuries sustained by an explosion of gas in an anthracite coal mine. The action was brought against the Buck Run Coal Company, Patrick Devers, its mine foreman, and certain other parties as to whom a nonsuit was entered. The court directed a verdict for the defendant company, and submitted the case as to Patrick Devers, the mine foreman, and the jury returned a verdict against him for 11,400. ' He took an appeal to the Superior Court, and the plaintiff has taken this appeal, alleging that the court erred in directing a verdict in favor of the defendant company, and in entering a nonsuit as to one of the other defendants.
In his statement, the plaintiff avers that he, “while working as such employee as a miner, was injured by an explosion of gas or black damp which had accumulated in said mine by reason of improper appliances and by failure of said defendants to place proper tail brattices to prevent gas from entering the place at which said Dempsey was working .... by reason of want of proper ventilation and failure to drive proper headings and air courses, an explosion occurred by which said Dempsey, plaintiff, was severely burned and injured as aforesaid, (and) that the said defendants undertook to keep the said breast, gangways and chutes clear of dangerous gases, Nevertheless the said defendant company .... carelessly and negligently and in violation of the act of assembly of Pennsylvania operated said mine.”
It appears from the evidence that breast or chamber No. 4 in the defendant company’s mine had been abandoned, and that at the time of the accident the partition pillars which separated it from breast No. 5 were being “skipped,” or coal was being cut from them. While the plaintiff and another miner were thus engaged, there was an explosion of gas in breast No. 4 by which
If the defendant company failed or omitted to perform any duty enjoined upon it resulting in injury to the plaintiff, it is liable for the damages he has sustained. Before he can recover, however, it is incumbent upon him to show such failure or omission of duty on the part of the defendant. If his injuries are attributable to the negligence of another party, no responsibility rests upon the defendant company.
Recognizing the danger to the health and lives of persons employed in coal mines, the legislature of this state has attempted by statute to protect such persons by regulating and controlling the operations of the mine. With this purpose in view, laws have been enacted providing for the health and safety of those who are engaged in operating both the anthracite and bituminous coal mines of the state. The duties and responsibilities, not only of the owner, operator and superintendent, but also of the workmen who are engaged in the mine are defined and regulated by the several statutes on the subject. A violation of any statutory duty imposes liability on the offender for the resulting consequences.
In the case in hand, the plaintiff contends that he was injured by the failure to properly ventilate the mine, or rather that part of it, in which he was engaged at the time of the acci
Rule 1 of art. 12 of the act of 1891, provides: “The owner, operator or superintendent of a mine or colliery shall use every precaution to insure the safety of the workmen in all cases, whether provided for in this act or not, and he shall place the underground workings thereof, and all that is related to the same, under the charge and daily supervision of a competent person who shall be called ' mine foreman.'" Rule 3 provides: “The mine foreman shall have charge of all matters pertaining to ventilation, and the speed of the ventilators shall be particularly under his charge and direction; and any superintendent who shall cause the mine foreman to disregard the pro
It is conceded that the defendant company had employed a competent certified mine foreman, Patrick Devers, and that, at the time of the accident, he was in charge of the underground workings of the mine. There is no evidence in the case that the owner or operator had not provided and maintained an adequate supply of pure air for the mine. Nor does the evidence disclose that the owner, the defendant company, had in any manner failed to perform duties in operating the mine imposed on it by the statute, unless the company should have driven the top-heading in order to permit the air currents to circulate in the breast above the place where the plaintiff was injured. The learned court below was correct in holding that there was no evidence of the failure of the defendant to furnish any material required by law which contributed to the accident. Nor did the testimony show that defendant Neal was responsible for any defective ventilation system.
As will be observed, the statute requires the owner to place the underground workings of the mine and all that is related to the same in the charge and daily supervision of a mine foreman. It also especially commits to the foreman’s charge all matters pertaining to the ventilation of the mine, and prohibits the superintendent from interfering with him in the performance of his duties. In other words, by command of the statute, the interior of the mine is taken out of the possession and control of the owner and placed in charge of a certified foreman, with whom the owner’s superintendent is forbidden to interfere, and who has power to compel compliance with his directions so far as they relate to the safety of the employees engaged in the mine. We are, therefore, of opinion that, as ventilating the defendant’s mine was under the control and subject to the direction of the mine foreman, it was his duty to drive such headings as were necessary to ventilate the mine. He is, by statute, expressly given “charge of all matters pertaining to ventilation” of the mine, and it logically
The owner or operator having obeyed the command of the statute by providing a constant and adequate supply of pure air for the mine, it was the duty of the mine foreman to see that it was properly circulated through the mine. Anything and everything that affects the health and safety of the workmen while engaged at their work is in the keeping and charge of the mine foreman. He is especially charged with ventilating the mine, and whatever is necessary to be done to accomplish the purpose is a statutory duty imposed upon him. Having an adequate supply of air at his command, it was the duty of the mine foreman to direct the manner in which it should be conducted to the places at which the plaintiff and the other men were at work. Whether the air current should have been conducted to breast No. 4 by means of brattices, and whether a top-heading should have been driven to breast No. 5, and a heading at any other location in the mine should have been driven for the purpose of ventilating breast No. 4, were questions to be determined by the mine foreman. The act requires him to be a competent person, and presumably he is more competent to determine the necessity for, and the proper maimer
While the owner is not responsible for the neglect of the duties imposed by statute upon the mine foreman, the former must nevertheless “ use every precaution to insure the safety of the workmen.” If any matter injuriously affecting the health or safety of the men is brought to his attention it is his duty to take the proper steps to correct it. If to the owner’s knowledge the mine foreman or any other employee is neglecting the performance of his duties or the mine is in a condition which endangers the health or safety of the workmen, it is the duty of the owner to act promptly and have the dangers to the safety of the men removed; but where the owner is not in default, he cannot be made liable for the neglect of duty imposed by the statute upon another person. He necessarily must operate his mine largely through others, and when he complies with the provisions of the statute enacted to protect his workmen, by employing competent assistants, he has done all that is required of him and ought not to be subjected to liabilities for which he is not responsible.
We find no reversible error in this record and, therefore, the judgment is affirmed.