Hennessy v. City of Boston

• Court: Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
• Writing for the Court: [37 N.E. 668] KNOWLTON, J.
• Citation: Hennessy v. City of Boston, 161 Mass. 502, 37 N. E. 668 (Mass. 1894)
• Decision Date: 19 June 1894
• Parties: HENNESSY v. CITY OF BOSTON.

161 Mass. 502

37 N.E. 668

HENNESSY v. CITY OF BOSTON.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.

June 19, 1894

OPINION

KNOWLTON, J.

The plaintiff was injured from the caving in of the side of a sewer trench in which he was working, and which was 30 or 40 feet long, 12 or 13 feet deep, 3 feet wide at the top, and about 11/2 feet wide at the bottom. There was evidence tending to show that the foreman in charge of the work was a person whose sole or principal duty in the service of the defendant was that of superintendence. It was his duty to take proper precautions for the safety of the men at work in the trench. He should have observed carefully the character of the soil, and all other conditions which would enable him to determine what should be done to prevent such accidents as that which happened to the plaintiff. It appears that there was no bracing in the trench except 2 blocks, about 25 feet apart. These blocks were portions of earth about 4 feet wide, which were left untouched, so as to form braces. So far as appears there was no unexpected or extraneous cause for the caving in of the earth, and the accident seems to have resulted from natural causes. The jury might well have believed from the evidence that, if the foreman had exercised such skill and foresight as men of ordinary ability and experience in charge of such a work are...