Pollich v. T. J. Sellers & Co
| Decision Date | 01 May 1890 |
| Docket Number | 10,610 |
| Citation | 7 So. 786,42 La.Ann. 623 |
| Parties | SPIRIDIONE POLLICH ET AL. v. T. J. SELLERS & CO |
| Court | Louisiana Supreme Court |
APPEAL from the Civil District Court, Parish of Orleans. King J.
Harry H. Hall, for Plaintiffs and Appellants.
Rice & Armstrong, for Defendants and Appellees.
The causes of the fatal accidents, whereby three men lost their lives, while at work, in demolishing the exposition buildings in this city, are fully recounted in two cases decided by this court.
The first case, that of Mrs. John Faren vs. T. J Sellers, 39 An. 1011, is similar in many respects to the case at bar.
John Faren, whose death gave cause for this suit, met his death two days before Casey and Pollich fell.
In the case of Faren, the injury was occasioned by the fall of a purline, which slipped from its support and precipitated him some seventy-five feet to the ground.
The defect was not patent. It was therefore held that he had not assumed the risk incident to the service.
In the case of Casey, reported in 41 An. 500, the injury was occasioned by the falling of a row of trusses under which he was working.
The building had been stripped to the danger point; the purlines or rafters had been taken down; the skeleton of the structure remained.
In this case the accident was occasioned by the falling of the timbers that killed Casey, at the same time that it occasioned the death of Pollich.
The status and the extent of defendants' fault are established.
Only the question of contributory negligence is to be settled at this time.
Complete statement of the facts having been made in the decisions reported, it only remains necessary to state those not proven in those cases.
The deceased was working on the loft of the building, taking down the trusses, on the 13th of August, 1886.
Lynch his employer, who had contracted with the defendants to take down what remained standing of the main building and the government building, in the prosecution of his work had advanced a derrick to the trusses and had commenced taking down from Magazine street toward St. Charles street.
The derrick was made secure by wire guys. Those on the side of the building were placed under the trusses. They extended from near the top of the derrick to the ground, and were made secure below at a point under the trusses known to be insecurely attached to the building.
A row of trusses fell; one of them fell upon the guys which held the derrick in place. They had been so weakened by the stripping of the building that they fell of their weight, without the least touch.
The span nearest to the derrick was attached and swung to it, and was about to be lowered to the ground.
While the span or truss was so attached and swung to the derrick, one of the inside trusses suddenly fell, carrying down other trusses, one of which fell on the guys which held the derrick in position and carrying down with the derrick the span attached and which was about to be lowered to the ground.
At the time the...
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