88 N.Y. 146 | NY | 1882
[EDITORS' NOTE: THIS PAGE CONTAINS HEADNOTES. HEADNOTES ARE NOT AN OFFICIAL PRODUCT OF THE COURT, THEREFORE THEY ARE NOT DISPLAYED.] *148 The boiler of the defendant's locomotive "Sacramento" exploded while in the repair shop of the company, at East Albany, on the 6th of August, 1879, killing Francis Murphy, the plaintiff's intestate, and one Smith, who were engaged at the time, by the direction of the master-mechanic of the shop, in setting the safety-valve, so as to allow a pressure, in the boiler, of one hundred and thirty-three pounds to the square inch, which was the highest limit of steam permitted in the use of locomotives on the road. The locomotive *150 was taken to the shop for repairs about two weeks before the explosion, having been reported by the engineer as pounding in the driving-boxes, leaking, etc. It was the rule of the shop, known to all the employes, that when an engine came into the shop for repairs, all defects reported should be repaired and an examination made to see if any other defects could be discovered, and if there were any of a slight nature, they should be repaired first, and reported afterward; but if of a serious nature, they were to be reported first and repaired afterward. In the ordinary course, a locomotive sent to the shop for repairs was first put into the hands of the boiler-makers for the examination and repair of the boiler, then into the hands of the machinists, and finally into the hands of mechanics to set the safety-valve, which was the last thing to be done before the locomotive was sent on to the road. This last work was usually committed to the intestate and Smith, who were mechanics and had for several years been employed in the repair shop, and who, when the particular work of setting the safety-valve of a locomotive was to be done, were assigned to this duty. On examination of the locomotive "Sacramento" after the explosion, it was found that twenty of the stay-bolts on the right side of the boiler were broken, the fractures being apparently old, and the right side sheet near themud-ring, which was originally five-sixteenths of an inch in thickness, had been channeled, or worn down to one-sixteenth of an inch. The evidence tended to show that the explosion was attributable to these defects, which rendered the boiler incapable of sustaining the pressure directed to be put upon it, and that the defects would have been discovered by the boiler-makers, if they had performed their duty to make thorough inspection of the boiler, with a view to ascertain whether any defects existed. The judge nonsuited the plaintiff, and it must be assumed that the negligence of the boiler-makers, was one of the efficient causes of the accident. The boiler-makers were competent and skilled mechanics, and they had reported to the master-mechanic that the locomotive was "all right," before the intestate and Smith *151 were directed to set the valve; the intestate and Smith had no notice of the defects in the boiler.
Upon these facts the question arises, whether the company is liable for the death of Murphy, resulting from the negligence, primarily, of the boiler-makers. They, and the intestate, were co-servants of the defendant, and it is the general rule of law that, the master is not responsible to one servant for an injury occasioned by the negligence of a co-servant of the common employer. To this rule there are two welldefined exceptions:first, where the servant, whose negligence caused the injury, was an unfit and incompetent person to be intrusted with the duty to which he was assigned, and the accident resulted from his incompetency and unfitness (Laning v. N.Y. Central RailroadCo.,
These exceptions, however, are subject to the qualification that the duty imposed upon the master to employ competent servants, and furnish fit and safe machinery, is not absolute, but relative. The master does not guaranty either the competency of the co-servants, or the safety of the machinery and appliances. He undertakes to use due and reasonable care in both respects, and that there shall be no negligence on his part or on the part of any person intrusted by him with the business of employing servants and providing safe machinery, etc. It is plain that the master's liability, if sustained in this case, rests upon the second exception stated, viz.: the negligent furnishing of an unsafe machine for the use of the intestate. The competency of the boiler-makers and machinists employed in repairing the locomotive before it came to the hands of the intestate and Smith, is not questioned. The rules of the shop were comprehensive, and required a full examination by the boiler-makers and machinists, to discover defects. Their negligence is not a ground of action against the master, unless *152
as between the intestate and the master, it was the master's duty to ascertain before the intestate and Smith were put to setting the valve, that the boiler was safe and would bear the required pressure. We think this case is not within the principle which holds the master responsible for unsafe machinery furnished for the use of the servant. The case of Fuller v. Jewett (
The case is not free from difficulty, but we are of opinion that the nonsuit was properly granted, and the judgment should, therefore, be affirmed.
All concur, except TRACY, J., absent.
Judgment affirmed.