L. & N. R. R. Co. v. Netherton
| Decision Date | 19 April 1917 |
| Citation | 175 Ky. 159 |
| Court | Kentucky Court of Appeals |
| Parties | Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company v. Netherton. |
Appeal from Oldham Circuit Court.
BENJAMIN D. WARFIELD, DAVID H. FRENCH and CHARLES CARROLL for appellant.
EDWARDS, OGDEN & PEAK for appellee.
Plaintiff, William C. Netherton, brought this suit under the Federal Employers' Liability Act against the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company to recover damages for personal injuries. The trial before a jury resulted in a verdict and judgment in his favor for $7,000.00. The railroad company appeals.
When injured plaintiff was twenty-four years of age and had been in the company's employ for about three years. For the greater portion of that time he was engaged with others in painting bridges, depot buildings, etc. At the time of his injury he was painting a bridge across Licking River. With the exception of the cross-ties, which were of wood, the bridge was constructed of steel. It was about 18 feet wide and 30 feet high. The painting crew consisted of the foreman, John Florence, and six or seven others, including plaintiff. Plaintiff and an employe, by the name of Kindle, were on the platform of a scaffold suspended from the top of the bridge. The platform or stage was about 5 feet below the girder and 25 feet from the floor of the bridge. It was about 18 inches wide and 16 feet long. Through holes bored in each end ropes were tied, so that the stage could be adjusted to the proper position for use. At the top the ropes were looped around a steel girder 18 inches square. After being looped around the girder the loop ropes were attached to the rope which was hooked to the stage by another rope through the loop rope. Two hooks, one at each end, were attached to a rope so doubled as to work through a pulley, one hook being attached to the stage and the other to the loop rope at the girder. This condition existed at each end of the stage. By pulling on the ropes attached to the hooks and pulley the stage was raised from the bridge floor to the point desired, and then fastened by means of a loop made with the drop rope. As the work progressed the scaffold was moved along the bridge. To this end it was necessary only to move one of the loops at a time. Plaintiff and Kindle were working towards the Covington side. Plaintiff climbed to the girder and removed the rope and loop from the Latonia side over to the proper place towards the Covington side. While he was thus engaged, Kindle and the foreman, Florence, moved the stage over and adjusted the hooks to same. They then pulled the stage to the proper position about 5 feet below the girder and held it until plaintiff came down from the girder to the stage and fastened the drop line to the hooks in the customary way. Kindle then climbed on the stage with plaintiff and they began to paint. In thirty or forty minutes the scaffold fell and plaintiff and Kindle were precipitated to the floor of the bridge. Plaintiff testified that the stage and attachments were all properly adjusted and safely put together. Kindle also says that the loops were made in the usual and customary way. While getting ready to step across the brace, plaintiff says he "heard the ropes crack and the stage fell down." He further says that it fell only at one end and went down suddenly. On cross-examination plaintiff was asked the question: "You heard the crash like breaking ropes?" and answered: "Yes, sir." Plaintiff also testified that his statement that he heard the ropes crack had reference to the loop ropes. It further appears from his evidence that about two weeks prior to the accident new ropes were secured for use on the bridge, but they proved too short and the workmen got old ropes that had been in use for about two years. During plaintiff's cross-examination two loop ropes which had not been broken were introduced in evidence, and he was asked if they were not the ropes he was using at the time of the accident. He admitted that the ropes were similar in appearance, length and general construction to those used by him, but would not say whether they were the same ropes or not. He added, however, that he did not think they were the same, because the ropes he...
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