Vigneault v. Winchester Tannery Co.

• Decision Date: 03 October 1911
• Citation: 81 A. 407,76 N.H. 196
• Parties: VIGNEAULT v. WINCHESTER TANNERY CO.
• Court: New Hampshire Supreme Court

81 A. 407

76 N.H. 196

VIGNEAULT

v. WINCHESTER TANNERY CO.

Supreme Court of New Hampshire. Cheshire.

Oct. 3, 1911.

Exceptions from Superior Court, Cheshire County; Mitchell, Judge.

Action by Peter Vigneault against the Winchester Tannery Company. Verdict for plaintiff, and defendant brings exceptions. Exceptions overruled.

During the cross-examination of the defendants' superintendent the plaintiff's counsel asked the following question: "Is this tannery company of yours one of the Armour or Swift Company's?" An exception was taken, whereupon the court excluded the question, counsel withdrew it, and the jury were instructed to disregard it. The defendants also excepted to remarks of the plaintiff's counsel in closing argument and to the denial of their motions for a nonsuit and the direction of a verdict in their favor. The evidence tended to prove the facts hereinafter stated.

The plaintiff was injured October 30, 1909, while oiling a ventilating fan situated on the third floor of the defendants' tannery. He entered their employment July 2d of that year, and was engaged to do carpenter work. On the day before he received his injury, the regular oiler being absent, he was ordered by the defendants' foreman to oil the shops. After he had oiled a portion of them, it was ascertained that the fan in question was not in operation, and he was then told that he need not oil it. On the following day he was again directed to oil the shops and to oil everything he saw. The fan was set in the northerly wall of the mill and toward its easterly end. Its function was to blow the air out of the mill through a hole in the wall. It was five feet in diameter, and the shaft upon which it ran was about 35 inches from the floor. Power was transmitted to the shaft by a belt which came up through the floor and passed over a pulley upon the shaft. Between this pulley and the fan was another pulley from which power was transmitted to a fan at the west end of the mill. Just north of the latter pulley was a box or bearing for the shaft, which was supported by an iron standard and steadied from above by two pieces of iron which extended in a V-shape from the box on the shaft up over the blades to a circular iron box surrounding the rim of the fan. In that part of the box on the shaft north of the iron braces were two oil holes, one on the east and one on the west side of the shaft; and in that part of the box south of the braces were also two oil holes similarly situated. On the fan were six blades of sheet steel extending from the shaft to the rim or circumference of the fan. These blades project by an increasing ratio from a short distance at the shaft to 15 inches at the rim. They were over 11 inches from the iron braces measuring along the shaft, while at distances of 19 and 18 inches from the shaft and towards the circumference of the fan they were distant from the braces from 1 3/4 to 3 1/4 inches. When the fan was in motion, all parts of it appeared to be from 10 to 12 inches from the iron braces, and the steel blades could not be seen. Inside each end of the box on the shaft was a reservoir into which the two oil holes on the respective ends of the box entered. It was not necessary in order to oil the shaft to put oil into the holes, except on one side. There was a railing on the west and south sides of the shaft shutting off an approach to the fan, but on the east side the approach was unobstructed. By standing at a jog in the railing on the west side of the shaft oil could be safely put in the holes in the box on that side of the shaft, both inside and outside the iron braces, when the fan was in motion. This was the customary way of oiling the shaft when the fan was in motion. When it was at rest, it was customary for the oiler to go between the power belt and the fan on the easterly side of the shaft, and oil all the holes in the box on both sides of the shaft. The holes on the east side could not be seen or oiled from the jog in the railing on the west side.

No instructions were given the plaintiff as to where he should go to oil the fan, nor how he should oil it. When he came to the fan, it was in motion. As he approached the space east of the shaft, he saw the two oil holes on that side, and supposed he had to oil them. The fan appeared to be 10 or 12 inches back from the iron braces beyond which he had to oil one of...