Pennsylvania Superior Court Reports Volume 76 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1921 edition. Excerpt: ...floor of the breaker and watch a chute used in connection with cleaning the coal. Occasionally he did other work as directed by the foreman, such as acting as breaker boss, oiling the emery pickers, etc. The breaker stops operations at twelve o'clock for the lunch period of half an hour; the machinery starts again at 12:25, and the men go to work at 12:30. On April 4, 1919, Granville finished his lunch at 12:20. He was then standing at a window near the sheet iron cutter, on the floor he usually worked on, and spoke a few words to the picker boss. At 12:25 the picker boss gave the signal for the machinery to start and immediately after it started he heard a cry and on running to the bottom floor found Granville's body caught in the gears of the pony rolls. His feet had already passed through the gears and his trunk was then being crushed. He was dead when found. Nobody saw the accident or knew how it occurred, but two of defendant's witnesses testified that from the position of his body and the way the gear covering or safety guard had been thrown down, he must have fallen into the gears feet first. It was not contended that his death was self-inflicted or had been caused by the act of a third person intended to injure the employee because of reasons personal to him. The gear covering was a casing made of heavy wooden planks, weighing about 150 pounds fitting into a groove and spiked fast, which served as a safety guard or protection against accidents from the gears. When the gears needed fixing it was pried up with a bar and lifted to one side, an operation which took about five to ten minutes' time. When Granville was found it was lying as if it had been pushed over. No bar was near, there was nothing to show...