Harris v. Gulf Oil Corp., 42736
| Decision Date | 28 October 1963 |
| Docket Number | No. 42736,42736 |
| Citation | 247 Miss. 623,157 So.2d 55 |
| Parties | James A. HARRIS v. GULF OIL CORPORATION and Parker Wilson. |
| Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
Melvin, Melvin & Melvin, Laurel, for appellant.
Welch, Gibbs & Graves, Laurel, for appellee.
This case is appealed from the Circuit Court of the Second District of Jones County from a verdict rendered therein in favor of the appellees, Gulf Oil Corporation and Parker Wilson, an individual. James A. Harris had filed suit against the Gulf Oil Corporation and its agent, Parker Wilson, to recover damages for personal injuries sustained on March 20, 1958, on account of the alleged negligence of the defendants in the course of connecting a heater treater.
Appellant, James A. Harris, charged in his declaration that at the time of the injuries complained of he was an employee of Dapsco, Inc., a local oil filed construction and repair business; that he had been instructed by one Parker Wilson, the foreman and supervisor for Gulf and the individual defendant in this case who was acting for an in behalf of his master, to climb upon a large metal tank, approximately forty feet in height and known as a heater treater; that the heater treater was not a safe place on which defendant could work; and that Dapsco had been instructed by Gulf to hook up the heater treater to the pipes of Gulf. Appellant further alleged that at the time of his injuries he was working on the premises of Gulf; that he was an inexperienced worker and an illiterate man and he was especially inexperienced in the erection and construction of heater treaters; that the heater treater was not fastened to the concrete base upon which it had been placed; that Gulf was exercising supervision and control of the entire operation; that the employees of Gulf saw the dangerous condition and knew they were inexperienced men in this type of work; that they permitted the operation to proceed knowing the danger; and that this and the general dangerous conditions existing around the heater treater resulted in the defendants not furnishing the plaintiff a safe place in which to work.
The appellant further charged that the base of the heater treater was unstable, and that a slick, greasy bottom caused it to topple and slip and fall. This greasy condition and the fact that it was not fastened down was known to Gulf's foreman, Parker Wilson, yet Parker Wilson ordered defendant to mount the heater treater and then directed him what work to do under these circumstances. Appellant contends that this constituted gross negligence and was a violation of the duties owed to the plaintiff by Gulf through its agent, Parker Wilson; that these dangers were concealed and should have been communicated to appellant; that defendants wholly failed to perform said duties and responsibilities by not warning appellant; and that by sending appellant into a dangerous place and then directing the work was the proximate cause of his injuries.
Under the pleadings as reflected by the record, the two controlling issues, as made up for the jury, were substantially as follows: (1) Whether or not the heater treater at the time of the making of the connection by appellant was in a reasonably safe condition, and (2) whether Parker Wilson, as the responsible agent of Gulf, was present and personally directed the operation by the use of an unsafe and dangerous method and in an unsafe and dangerous condition. On these questions the jury found a verdict for the defendants.
The errors urged by appellant in his appeal are these: (1) The judgment and verdict are contrary to the law of the case. (2) The judgment is contrary to and against the overwhelming weight of the competent testimony of the case. (3) The court erred in admitting testimony in reference to the Soso Oil Fueld Unit over the objection of plaintiff, and that this testimony was highly prejudicial to appellant. (4) The court erred in granting the appellee certain instructions. (5) The court erred in refusing appellant certain instructions.
The appellant was the only witness who testified with reference to the unsafe condition which existed at the heater treater, the dangers present there, and the control and operation exiercised by appellee, Parker Wilson as superintendent of Gulf. Appellant testified in great detail substantially that the heater treater in question had been moved by Dapsco and located on the foundation in question, and that the appellee, Parker Wilson, was present at the time it was unloaded from the truck and placed upon the foundation. He described the method used in setting the heater treater upon the concrete foundation as follows: After the heater treater had been located, the truck turned around and faced the heater treater; there was a winch on the front of the truck; Parker Wilson told him to get a cable off of the end of the truck, take the end of the cable, his tools, a block and tackle and chain and go up and connect it around the top of the heater treater.
He testified further that the heater treater was forty feet high and he went up on top of it by means of a ladder; that the lower end of the heater treater was not attached to anything and the bottom of the heater treater was covered with oil, dirt and grit about an inch thick; that Parker Wilson was present at the time the orders were given him; that the truck was located about fifteen or twenty feet away with the motor of the truck running; that the cable was at a 45-degree angle; and when force was applied, the heater treater turned over, causing the injuries to appellant.
Appellant alleges that under the direction of Parker Wilson the manner in which he worked was a grossly careless and dangerous manner which was unknown to appellant, and that the method of raising the preheater upon the heater treater was likewise a very dangerous manner in that there was no block located at the bottom of the heater treater through which the cable could pass, so that when the preheater was raised by the truck moving backward the pull would be perpendicular rather than at a 45-degree angle. He testified further that Dapsco was his employer and one Duvall was his foreman, and that he knew Dapsco was an independent contractor.
The record discloses that appellee received serious injuries and permanent injuries insofar as his wrist is concerned.
There is sharp conflict between the testimony offered by appellant and the members of the Dapsco crew with whom he worked. The members of the crew, towit, Red Duvall, Leroy Holifield, Johnny Wilson, J. W. Walters and Eugene Knight, completely dispute the statement that Dapsco moved the heater treater and located it on the foundation in question at Battery 13. Mr. Hutto, McGill's foreman, testified that two days before the accident he and his crew had moved and placed the heater treater on the new foundation on March 18. They disputed completely the presence of the appellee, Parker Wilson. They denied that Parker Wilson was ever at the site at the time the heater treater was being connected, or that he gave any orders to appellant or to any other members of the Dapsco crew. They denied the fact that Parker Wilson ordered plaintiff to go upon the heater treater, but stated that Dapsco's foreman, Duvall, ordered him to do so. They denied the fact that there was a winch on the front of the truck and that a cable was used, but assert that a manila rope was used and it was tied to the bumper of the truck. They disputed the fact that there was oil on the foundation of the heater treater or that it was unstable.
They testified further that Dapsco paid their...
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Long v. Woollard, 43054
...work such as he and Cheatham were engaged in daily when employed by Mr. Woollard, and at the time of his injuries. See Harris v. Gulf Oil Corp., Miss., 157 So.2d 55. The danger in which Long placed himself was an obvious danger, obvious to him and obvious to all concerned, and the duty of t......