Wilcox v. Hebert

• Decision Date: 12 April 1909
• Citation: 118 S.W. 402,90 Ark. 145
• Parties: WILCOX v. HEBERT
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

118 S.W. 402

90 Ark. 145

WILCOX v. HEBERT

Supreme Court of Arkansas

April 12, 1909

Appeal from Sebastian Circuit Court; Daniel Hon, Judge; reversed.

Judgement reversed and cause remanded.

Read & McDonough, for appellants.

Edwin Hiner and Ira D. Oglesby, for appellee.

MCCULLOCH C. J. BATTLE, J., absent.

OPINION

MCCULLOCH, C. J.

Appellants operated a steam laundry in the city of Ft. Smith, Arkansas, and appellee, a girl between fourteen and fifteen years of age at the time of the occurrence which is the subject-matter of this action, was working for them. She sustained a physical injury while working for them, and sues to recover damages, alleging that their negligence caused the injury. She was engaged at work at an ironing machine, called a mangle, and while feeding a garment into the mangle one of her hands became caught between two rollers and was badly crushed and burned. She alleged in her complaint that she was, at the time she received the injury, inexperienced in the operation of said machine and ignorant of the dangers attending its use; that it was a dangerous machine to one inexperienced in its use, and was rendered more dangerous by the. removal of a guard-rod which, she alleged, was placed on the machine by its manufacturers as an additional protection to persons while operating it. Negligence of appellants is alleged (1) in failing to instruct her as to the performance of her work so as to avoid injury and to properly warn her of the danger attending the work; and (2) in removing the guard-rod from the machine and permitting its use without the guard-rod.

Appellee and another girl about the same age were working together feeding garments into the mangle. They stood on a platform in front of the mangle and took the garments to be ironed from a basket which was attached to the front of the feed apron. The feed apron revolved toward the rollers of the machine so as to carry the garments, when laid on it, between the rollers, a large heated iron roller and the small felt rollers which pressed the garments against the heated roller. In this way the garments were ironed. In feeding the garments into the machine it was not necessary for feeders to permit their hands to pass between the rollers, and the first of the felt rollers extended over somewhat in front of the iron roller so as to serve as a warning, when touched, of the near approach to the heated roller. It was necessary, however, for the feeders to spread a garment out on the feed apron so that it would properly pass between the rollers, and to hold the end of the garment, after the other end started between the rollers, so that it would pass through straight and smooth. Appellee and her companion were at the time of the injury ironing aprons, and she had one of the strings of the apron which she was ironing wrapped around her fingers and was holding it by this string when she allowed her hand to be carried between the rollers. When her hand was extricated, it was found that the apron string was wrapped around three of her fingers, and her fingers were closed around the string.

It is contended on behalf of appellants that, according to the undisputed evidence, appellee was fully instructed as to her duties and warned of all the dangers attending the work; that according to her own evidence she was fully aware of the danger, and that the injury was caused by her own carelessness. On the other hand, it is contended by counsel for appellee that, according to the undisputed evidence, no instruction was given to her as to the proper way to do the work so as to avoid danger, and no warning of the danger given at all. It is unnecessary for us to attempt to decide which of these widely differing contentions is correct, as the case is to be reversed on other grounds hereinafter stated, and the evidence may be different in the next trial. The law is plain as to the duty of an employer to warn and instruct an inexperienced servant and need not be stated now.

The testimony establishes the fact that the machine in question had been in use about seventeen years, and was originally made without a revolving feed apron, but with a guard-rod in front of the first felt roll so as to serve as a warning to the person feeding garments into the machine. That about six years before the injury appellants purchased and attached to the machine a revolving feed apron which increased the space between the person feeding and...