98 Minn. 439 | Minn. | 1906
Action to recover damages for personal injuries alleged to have been •caused by the negligence of defendant, in which the trial court directed a verdict for defendant, and plaintiff appealed from an order ■denying a new trial.
The facts are as follows: Defendant owned and operated a flour-mill in the city of Minneapolis, which was under the control and management of a superintendent. The building was a five-story ■structure, and the mill was operated continuously day and night. In January, 1905, plaintiff entered its employ and was assigned the ■duty, among others, of caring for and oiling the machinery situated on the fifth floor. He continued in' this service until the time of the accident in March, 1905, except for the period of about one week, during which the mill was shut down. He was supplied by defendant with an ordinary ladder for use in his work, to enable him to reach portions of the machinery requiring frequent oiling which were be
We are of opinion that the trial court correctly disposed of the case. There is not sufficient evidence upon which to predicate a finding of negligence against defendant.
The ladder in question, it is true, was supplied with brads at the lower end for purposes of safety, to prevent it from slipping on the floor when in use, and it is also true that, at the time of the accident, one of the brads was missing, and solely because of its absence the injury complained of was caused. But there is no evidence that defendant knew of this condition of things, and the facts disclosed are not such as to impute to it notice.of the defect, nor was it chargeable with the duty to inspect the same. A ladder of the character of this one is not a complicated instrumentality, nor were there any latent defects in the construction of the one in question. It is a simple appliance, to which the rule requiring the master to inspect for the purpose of discovering possible defects caused by its use does not ordinarily apply. The rule can have no application to the facts here shown. Plaintiff was an experienced workman in this line of
The rule requiring the inspection by the master of simple and commonly understood instrumentalities furnished his servant is discussed by Mr. Justice Elliott in Koschman v. Ash, supra, page 312, 108 N. W. 514. The authorities are there reviewed, and the rule there laid down applies to the case at bar.
Eor the reason that defendant owed plaintiff no duty to inspect the ladder in question — the only defect complained of being that it was out of repair, not that it was in a defective condition when originally furnished for use — no actionable negligence is shown, and the order appealed from is affirmed.
Order affirmed.