182 Mass. 431 | Mass. | 1903
Through the whole period during which the plaintiff had worked on the machine which she operated on the day of the accident, the place with all the appliances and arrangements had been in the same condition in which it was when she was hurt. That period was six months, and for six or seven years, before that- she had worked within a few feet of the same spot. She was of mature age, and for fifteen years had been employed in similar work. She had herself selected the place because at that particular machine, of a row of fifteen or more, the cut made for the convenience of the operator in the bench which ran along the side of the room, was square in shape and went further into the bench than the cuts at the other machines. Under the bench, parallel with the wall and three or four inches nearer to it than the rear edge of the square opening, and three or four inches above the floor, was a line of shafting; and upon this line, at the right hand side of the opening, a coupling larger in diameter than the shaft. As she knew, dress guards, to prevent the skirts of the female operatives from coming in contact with the shafting, had been provided for all the machines, but were not in use at this place when she chose it, or while she worked there. Having occasion to place upon the bench some materials for use in her work, she walked into the opening, her skirts were caught by the shaft, and she was hurt. The coupling was fastened by means of bolts, the ends of which were countersunk in the coupling, and held in place by nuts from the top of which the screw-ends of the bolts projected, and the outermost part of the thread upon the bolts projected one thirty-second of an inch beyond the outer surface of the coupling. There was evidence tending to show that the plaintiff’s dress was caught by the thread of the nuts, and that she was drawn under the shafting.
Exceptions overruled.
