Sun Oil Co. v. Hedge

• Decision Date: 18 April 1927
• Docket Number: (No. 373.)
• Citation: 293 S.W. 9
• Parties: SUN OIL CO. v. HEDGE.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

293 S.W. 9

SUN OIL CO. v. HEDGE.

(No. 373.)

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

April 18, 1927.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Pol County; B. E. Isbell, Judge.

Action by Ben Hedge against the Sun Oil Company. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Affirmed.

This appeal is prosecuted by the Sun Oil Company from a judgment for $3,000 damages returned against it in favor of Ben Hedge on account of a personal injury received by said Hedge while in the employ of the said oil company.

Complaint alleges:

That plaintiff, with his crew of four other employees, was engaged in "throwing" a gas trap—that is, stripping the flow line connections from the gas trap, the gas trap being a pipe about 70 feet long, set on the ground in a vertical position and used to separate the oil from the gas. It was held in position by four guy wires fastened near the top and extending in different directions to the ground where they were fastened. That to remove the trap it was necessary to unfasten the guy wires from the bottom and throw the trap in the direction in which it was to fall. That to do this it was necessary to hold the guy wires after they were unfastened until a given signal from the plaintiff, when it was their duty immediately to release the guy wires so that the plaintiff could pull the trap in the direction in which it was to fall. Two of such traps had been removed, and the plaintiff and his coemployees were engaged in removing the third when the injury complained of occurred. That the guy wires to said trap had all been unfastened at the bottom and plaintiff's coemployees had hold of them when plaintiff gave the signal for them to release the guy wires. That his coemployees failed and neglected to immediately release said guys as directed by plaintiff, and as a result thereof the trap was swerved from the course in which it was intended to fall, in a northerly direction, causing a tree to intervene between the point where the trap fell and where it should and would have fallen if plaintiff's coemployees had released the guy wires as they were directed and as it was their duty to do. That by reason of the falling of the trap at the point where it did fall and the intervention of the tree between the point and the point where the plaintiff was standing and where the trap should have fallen, the guy wire which the plaintiff had hold of and by which he was attempting to guide the fall of the trap was drawn around and against said tree in such a manner that when it was tautened it struck the plaintiff in the abdomen and side, breaking two of his ribs and severely bruising and injuring him in the abdomen and side. That if the plaintiff's coemployees had released the said guy wires as it was their duty to have done, said trap, by the guidance of the plaintiff, would have fallen at a point where such an injury as occurred to plaintiff could not have happened, and that said injury was due solely to the negligence of plaintiff's coemployees by failing to release the wires which they held, as they were instructed to do.

It states further:

That the defendant company caused him to be treated by its physician. That he remained in the hospital for four days suffering severe pains in his abdomen and side, and that he was unable to work for 30 days, after which he was given a pumping job requiring no great exertion, and he continued at that work until the 15th of the following May. That thereafter he began to suffer severe pains in his bowels, and any exertion requiring the exercise of the muscles of the abdomen caused him intense pain, and that the condition finally became worse and became so aggravated that he was rendered incapable of performing any manual labor, and that he had to undergo an operation in order to get relief. He was operated on in January, 1925, when it was discovered that his injury had resulted in adhesions of the liver, stomach, intestines, and gall bladder. Since the operation he has only suffered slight and dull pains in the region of one of the floating ribs. That two of the ribs are crooked since healing to such an extent that they materially interfere with the normal operation of his body, and that he suffered much pain, lost 30 days from work following the injury, and has ever since been incapacitated from performing his usual and customary work. That he was a strong, able-bodied man, 28 years old, earning $180 per month at the time of the injury, and had expended $500 on account thereof.

The answer denies every material allegation of the complaint; denies that the guy wires attached to the trap had all been unfastened at the bottom before plaintiff gave the signal for the men to release them; denies specifically that allegation of the complaint relating thereto, that the injury occurred as stated, and that it was due solely to the negligence of the plaintiff's coemployees by failing to release the guy wire which they held as they were directed to do; admitted that plaintiff worked for the company subsequent to his injury until the 15th day of the following May; alleged that injury resulted from his own carelessness and negligence, being the foreman in charge at the time of his alleged injury; wholly failed to take the proper precautions in dismantling said gas trap, or in attempting to throw the said gas trap to the ground; that he, the said plaintiff, did not require his men to unfasten the guy wires which were wrapped around trees, 8 or 10 feet from the gas trap, before ordering the trap to be thrown to the ground; also pleaded contributory negligence and assumed risk and a full release from all liability, executed by plaintiff on the 16th day of March, 1923.

The testimony tends to show that plaintiff was the gang pusher of the pipe line crew and foreman to direct the work over the men, and, if necessary, to help in performing the labor; was engaged in throwing gas traps as alleged in the complaint when the injury occurred, and had been engaged in that work for 12 or 15 days; had thrown two traps of the same kind as the one by which he was injured and two of other styles. He described the occurrence as follows:

"The trap we were working on at the time I was injured consisted of an iron pipe about 70 feet high and held in position by four guy wires fastened to the top of the pipe and extending in four different directions to the ground, where they were fastened to stakes and trees. I was directed by Joe Tipson, foreman of the company, to do this work, and the only directions he gave me was to throw them down, turn loose the guy wires, and thrown them down in a manner to save them if I could. My only experience in throwing these traps consisted of about two days' work all together. In order to do this work, first we stripped the trees of everything; then we took the guy wires loose from their permanent wrap. We kept one wrap to hold it until I got everything ready. The men were holding these wires where they were tied to the trees and stakes, and at a given signal they were to release the wires and by pulling of the wire that I held the trap was guided in the direction I wanted it to fall. I had personally seen that the wires had been released and were in position before I gave the signal. I gave the signal, `Ready,' `let's go,' or something like that, and the man to my right failed to turn loose. He was out of my sight. There was nothing in the way to keep the men from releasing the wire if they had obeyed instructions. If the man had released his wire the trap would have fallen in the way I was pulling. The ones I had already thrown had fallen the way I intended. As the men to the left were slow in turning their line loose, this line on the trap had fallen four feet out of its course before these men to the right ever turned loose. When the trap fell there was a tree here, and the cable went around the tree and snapped back and hit me across the side and back. Floyd Collins was holding the line with me and helping me guide the trap; he was on the left side of the wire and out of danger. There was no danger in my position if the men had turned their wire loose as directed. The trap weighed about 1,200 pounds. The men understood what they were to do when the release call was given; they helped me to throw the other two traps. Immediately after I was knocked down by this guy wire I just felt as if the breath was knocked out of me. That was practically all the pain I had at that time. I had cramps and pain. There was a little streak around my whole body except a small place in front. I was about a mile from home; I walked this distance, and while walking home I had to creep and hold my abdomen as hard as I could with my hands. I cleaned myself up as best I could and had a little supper. We sent for a doctor then. The company doctor came out there about 11 o'clock. Jess Thomas went after the doctor; he saw Mr. Parks in town and he went with him to Dr. Neiheuss. He came about 11 at night. The next time I sent for Dr. Neiheuss he sent an ambulance for me. I stayed in the hospital four days. The hospital belonged to Dr. Neiheuss. He bandaged me up and the nurse gave me an enema. When I left the hospital the doctor had not declared my condition. I was still wearing an adhesive tape bandage, which I kept on about ten days. After the bandage was taken off the doctor gave me a prescription for some medicine; he said it was for my spleen."

Plaintiff stated that the guy wires had been released and unloosed except just enough to hold until he gave...