McCamish v. Groff

FINCH, P. J.

The complaint alleges that the plaintiff was employed by the defendants, “during the night shift,”

[777]

as engineer and operator of a seventy-five horse-power tractor; that the “tractor was guided by a tiller wheel, which moved to the right or left as the operator gave the direction in a circular frame to which was attached a scraper, devised for the purpose of scraping and keeping clodded dirt, weeds, stones, straw, and other obstructions from sticking to the steel tread surface of said tiller wheel”; that, at the time of the injury complained of and for a long time prior thereto, “said scraper was broken, destroyed and no longer in use upon said tractor, all of which was known at said time to the defendants”; that the “defendants did prior to and at the time the injury . . . was received, carelessly and negligently require, permit and cause said Geo. McCamish ... to operate said tractor in said defective condition and at such times as said tiller wheel ceased to revolve or turn and became clogged, as aforesaid by reason of clodded dirt, weeds, straw, stones, and other obstructions clinging thereto, to remove and pry the same from said tiller wheel by the use and aid of an iron crowbar”; that the “tractor in said defective condition was extremely dangerous, unsafe and hazardous to operate” and when the tiller wheel so became clogged it was necessary “that the operator immediately stop said tractor and go around in front of same and lean over the circular frame in which said tiller wheel turned and revolved and by the use of, and holding a crowbar jam said crowbar into the clogged dirt, weeds, straw, stones, and other obstructions caked and sticking to the steel tread surface of said tiller wheel and pry, dig and scrape said clogged dirt, weeds, straw, stones, and other obstructions therefrom, in the nighttime when said cleaning and scraping of said tiller wheel could be seen only dimly and with great difficulty, and in so doing the operator was apt to jam the metal crowbar into the metallic portion of said tractor and said tiller wheel, thereby causing steel splinters to fly back into the face and eyes of said operator, ... all of which at said time was well known to the said defendants”; that at the time of the injury “the defendants negligently and carelessly permitted, caused and required said Geo. McCamish to operate said defective tractor, . . . and upon said tiller wheel becoming clogged, ... to get off from said tractor, go around in front thereof and with an iron crowbar in his