135 Pa. 1 | Pa. | 1890
Opinion,
The plaintiff was a miner of coal in the employ of the defendants, and was injured while at work for them in their mines. His injury was received while he was attempting to cross the bottom of a shaft through which the coal was taken from ■ the mine to the surface. The shaft was about 80 feet in depth, and was provided with two cages, in one of which the coal was lifted up in cars, while at the same time, in the other, an empty car descended. The coal was brought to the foot of the shaft in cars by drivers, and placed on the cage. Notice to hoist was given bjr the driver to a person at the top, whose duty it was •to start the machinery for hoisting, and thereupon the cage containing the car was elevated to the surface, and at the same time an empty car descended in the other cage. The movement of the cars in this way occupied a very brief space of time when they were running regularly; considerably less than a minute was all that was required for the up and down movement. The plaintiff was going to his work through the mine on the morning of the accident, and it was necessary for him to pass the shaft at the bottom to reach his destination. There was a man-way opened around it, through which the men passed, some
The plaintiff had been working for the defendant for several years, and was perfectly well acquainted with the shaft and all its workings. He testified that he had passed through the shaft many times, and had also frequently ridden up and down on the cages. His own account of the accident was thus given:
“ Q. State whether or not you started to cross the sump, and then what took place. A. When I went to cross the sump, the cage came down, and I could not hear it. Q. You attempted to cross when the cages came down? A. Yes, sir. Q. What took place then? A. The cage came down on me. Q. What then? A. I knowed nothing afterwards, till one of the drivers hollered up that there was a man killed under the cage, and he hollered up to the top to hoist; then I knowed or heard no more afterwards, till I was taken out.” This was on his examination in chief. On cross-examination he testified : “ Q. Where were you when you looked up ? A. I was in this man-way, and I couldn’t see them, nor couldn’t hear them, [the cages,] I then looked up, and seen both of them was out of sight; then I took that was the shortest way to get through. Q. Then you came out of the man-way, and stepped down into the sump ? A. I just stepped right off in the man-way. I went on the man-way, and right there I stepped off. I was just right to the end of it, and I couldn’t get through there, and when I saw the cages were both out of sight I stepped right down into the sump. Q. Could you see up to
The foregoing quotations are the entire substance of the plaintiff’s personal testimony. No other witness but himself testified to the very facts of the accident. Other witnesses for the plaintiff testified to other facts occurring immediately before and just after the accident, but, as to the’ exact circumstances of the accident itself, the plaintiff was the only witness.
That the place into which the plaintiff stepped was a dangerous place was not only intrinsically and necessarily true, but that fact was also affirmatively proved by the plaintiff by the testimony of another witness, Thomas Heath. He said: “ Q. You never crossed under the cages while they were running ? A. Oh, yes; very often, I have. Q. Did you ever do it without looking up to see where they were? A. Yes; I have done it. Of course, it was very negligent in me. I have been there in a hurry, attending to my work, when I have run across frequently. Q. You risked your life when you did it, did you not? A. Yes, sir; I did. Of course, I knew better than to do it. Sometimes I would forget. Q. There was nothing to prevent you from seeing the cages, if you would look up? A. Not if I would look up.” Another witness for the plaintiff, Hugh McIntyre, testified: “ Q. When you would go under the cages through the sump you would always take care to see if one of the cages was down, would you not ? A. I generally would look where I was going to when I go into dan
Two of the plaintiff’s witnesses, William Trout and Hugh McIntyre, testified that they were mule drivers, and were engaged that morning at their work, when the accident happened. They were very near the foot of the shaft,—only three or four yards from the bottom; and almost immediately after the plaintiff passed, they heard him moan, and went to his relief, finding him under the cage. They both said the cages were running. Trout testified: “ Q. Did you see on the morning that this injury occurred Mr. McDonald come into the shaft? A. I passed him coming in that morning. How far were you from the bottom of the shaft? A. Some 8 or 4 yards from the bottom. Q. He passed you, and went on toward the shaft, did he? A. Yes, sir. Q. When did you see or hear Mr. McDonald after he passed you? A. Just shortly after he passed me I heard him moan. Q. Did you proceed to where you heard him moan ? A. I went there, and found the old man under the cage. I called to the top of the shaft for to hoist. Q. Where did you find him lying when you went there? A. He was lying right in under the cage.” He further said: “ I was waiting on the cage to be lowered down, so as I could get a load in.” On cross-examination he testified: “ Q. You heard the cage coming down that struck him? A. I heard the cage coming, and heard him moaning then. Q. Are you quite hard of hearing ? A. Yes, sir. Q. The cages had been running before McDonald got there that morning, had they not? A. They were running when he came there..... Q. You had a car loaded ready to send up, and were waiting for a cage to come down? A. Yes, sir..... Q. When you hallooed to hoist the cage, after you heard Mr. McDonald under the cage, they hoisted immediately, did they? A. Yes; they hoisted right up; there was no time until it was right off him.” McIntyre said he was a driver, and was present near the shaft, and saw the plaintiff coming down the heading; and the next he saw him was under the cage, and he went to him, and called to the man at the top to hoist. He further testified: “ Q. What had you done at the bottom of the cage that morning before McDonald passed you. A. I had hitched my mule
The foregoing testimony was all delivered by the plaintiff
That place was one of manifest, conspicuous danger. It had that character as a necessary consequence from the use of the shaft and the cages, which was perfectly well known to the plaintiff. But, in addition to that, one of his witnesses testified positively, directly, and affirmatively to the fact of the danger. Notwithstanding all this the -plaintiff stepped directly into this place, knowing that the cages were above him, without taking the slightest precaution for his safety. He made no inquiry of the drivers. He did not look up the shaft. He knew it was the time of day for the cages to be in motion, and in point of fact they were in motion, and he knew that he was in danger of death if he was struck, yet he walked deliberately into this death-trap with Ms eyes open, and in
Judgment reversed.