(Download) "Melanson v. Reed Bros." by Androscoggin Supreme Court of Maine # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Melanson v. Reed Bros.
- Author : Androscoggin Supreme Court of Maine
- Release Date : January 18, 1950
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 60 KB
Description
On exceptions to the acceptance of a Referee's Report. The case was heard by a referee under rule of court with right of exceptions as to questions of law reserved. The referee reported in favor of the plaintiff. Written objections were made to acceptance of the referee's report. The objections were overruled, the report accepted, and exceptions filed and allowed. It is upon these exceptions that the case is now before this court. The facts of this case are simple. The plaintiff was the servant of the defendant. The defendant was engaged in the growing and marketing of potatoes upon an extensive scale. At the time of the plaintiff's employment the defendant was engaged in digging its crop from several large fields by means of potato diggers drawn and operated by tractors. The referee found that the plaintiff and one Walker were employed to load potatoes from the field into a truck, counting the number of barrels, keep the field spaced for the pickers and help about the tractor and digger if it should break down. He further found that they informed the defendant of their unfamiliarity with the machinery being used. The plaintiff and Walker went to work in a field where one Wallace Higgins, together with a man by the name of George Glew, were operating the digger and tractor, Higgins being the operator of the digger and Glew being the operator of the tractor. The tractor furnished the power not only for drawing the digger over the ground but in addition, by means of a power takeoff, operated the mechanism of the digger. This power takeoff was a square shaft about six inches in diameter extending from the tractor to the digger. It was located two and one-half to three feet above the ground. Ordinarily when in operation this power takeoff was covered with a guard. When in operation the power takeoff revolved within the guard. At the time of the accident the guard had been removed for the purpose of greasing the power takeoff. The plaintiff and Walker had been at work about nine days. After lunch on the ninth day, Mr. Higgins, the digger operator in their field, called them to where the digger and tractor were standing and set Walker to work greasing the digger. Higgins asked the plaintiff to get him a wrench which lay upon the ground in front of the plow of the digger, and between the digger and tractor. At that time the engine of the tractor was in operation. The power takeoff was not in operation, being disengaged. The tractor operator, Glew, had the physical control of the clutch which engaged and disengaged the power takeoff. It was his duty to start and stop the power takeoff at the direction of Higgins. In stooping to pick up the wrench, the plaintiff placed his hand upon the idle power takeoff. While his hand was there the power takeoff commenced to revolve. It caught the glove on the plaintiff's left hand and tore off his left thumb.