Shanke v. U.S. Heater Co.
| Decision Date | 04 December 1900 |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
| Parties | SHANKE v. UNITED STATES HEATER CO. |
Error to circuit court, Wayne county; Byron S. Waite, Judge.
Action by Joseph Shanke against the United States Heater Company. Verdict directed for defendant, and plaintiff brings error. Affirmed
The defendant was engaged in the manufacture of steam heaters. It had a foundry and machine shop. The castings were wheeled from the foundry to the yard adjoining, and dumped upon the ground. From the yard they were wheeled into the machine shop as they were needed. Two-wheel trucks were used, with two handles,--one on each end. Sand and refuse had been carted from the foundry and dumped in the yard where these castings were placed. The ground was, in consequence, somewhat soft. Plaintiff had been for a year at work cleaning castings, and then carrying them onto the floor in the shop. He also had helped to wheel the sand and refuse from the foundry into the yard. He had seen the castings wheeled into the yard, and from the yard into the shop, and was familiar with the method of the work. The ground was too soft to wheel the castings over, and therefore boards 1 inch thick and from 6 to 12 inches wide were placed upon the ground, over which the trucks were wheeled. Defendant for this purpose had furnished and piled in the yard boards which the workmen could take and use as they saw fit, and as, in their judgment, were needed. The castings were dumped in the yard without any order, and wherever it was most convenient. The workmen placed these boards end to end where it was necessary to load the castings and wheel them to the shop, or from the foundry to the yard. The castings weighed from 300 to 750 pounds. As the wheel of the loaded truck came to the end of a board, it would press the end more or less into the soft soil. Plaintiff and another employ� were ordered on the day of the accident to wheel some of these castings into the shop. They had safely wheeled in 15, weighing from 300 to 350 pounds, and in doing so had taken up and placed the boards where they were needed. The sixteenth casting was heavier, weighing, as plaintiff testified, 700 to 750 pounds. He was in front, pulling, with his face to the truck. His companion was behind, pushing. Plaintiff described the accident as follows: The boards where they loaded this casting had been previously placed there. Plaintiff testified that the boards looked as though they...
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