SEQUEL TO A WHARF FATALITY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1146, 6 June 1911, Page 2

SEQUEL TO A WHARF FATALITY.

THE HARBOUR BOARD SUED,

CLAIM FOR .C2OOO,

The (iistrtwius accident in which John Patrick Baillie, stevedore, was killed on Hie Glasgow Wharf last November, was the subject of a. claim for compensation which was hoard in the Supremo Court yesterday by 31 r. .liiitico Sim and a. special jury of twelve. The action was taken under the Death by Accident Act, 1908, by Eliza Jano liaillio, widow and executrix of the deceased, for (he, benefit of herself ajiil two daughters and one son. The sum cf JHOOO, with cosis, was claimed from the Wcllir.fft.on Harbour Board. air. A. W. Blair and Mr. E. J. FitzI gibbon appeared fur the plaintiff; Sir. A. i Gray and Sir. T. S. Wcston for tho defendant. , . Basis of the Claim, The deceased was employed by Hi* New Zealand Shipping Company as fore--1 man stevedore, and on November 12, i 1010, he was engaged ot the Glasgow ! Wharf loading or unloading a steamer ■ belonging to the company. According to i the case for the plaintiff, deceased had occnsiim to use ,i certain capstan for the purpose of moving some trucks. A ropo was wound round the capstan, and attached to one of the trucks, so that when the capstan was revolved, tile (nicks were hauled towards it. The method of starting the capstan was to press with the foot a pin set in the floor .of the wharf, and the usual method of stopping the capstan was to remove the foot from the pin. By reason of the defective condition of the apparatus, the capstan did not stop when Baillie removed his foot, but continued revolving, with the result that liaillio was caught, carried round, and killed. It was further allowed that the capstan was supplied by the defendant board for the use of ships loading and unloading cargo, and there was a_ duty on the. board to maintain it in a fit and proper condition, and the board permitted it to be used by Baillie and others without warning," although the board knew the appliances were in a dangerous state. The Board's Defence. For the defence it was asserted by the board that its hydraulic cranes and capstans on tho wharf were hired to persons desiring to load and unload cargo, and that such persons, while using them, had the tele control and management thereof. That was the position with regard to the New Zealand Shipping Company in the present ease. The proper method of setting tho capstan in motion was to apply a steady, continued pressure of the bail of the foot upon a bulb covering a pin set in an iron frame, and elevated slightly above, tho Hour of the wharf. Baillio started the capstan negligently and carelessly by striking the bulb covering the pin a sharp and violent blow with his loot, instead of applying a steady and continuous pressure. The consequence of the blow was that the pin was driven out of its socket, and e-aught beneath the decking of the wharf, so that, when Bailio removed his foot, the pin did not come bark to its original position, and the, capstan continued to revolve.' Baillio ordered a fellow-employee to cut tho ropo attached to tho trucks, and when this was dtfiie, the. capstan at once started to revolve at a rapid rate. Baillie was whirled round and killed. It was the duty of the shipping company to see that persons employed by them at such work were familiar with the appliances and competent to operate them. The capstan, it was also alleged, was in a fit and proper condition, .having been tested by an experienced employee of the hoard oil the morning of the accident, and found to bo satisfactory. • For a further defence, the board said that Baillie's death was caused by his negligently and carelessly allowing his right foot and hand, or either, to become entangled in the rope, and'also by the jict of cutting the rope. Evidence Ocgun. The plaintiff gave evidence as to Hie circumstances of herself and family. Her husband, who liad provided for the household tip,to the time, of his death, bad left no property. Ho was 58 years of a»u in March, 1910. Neil Galbraith, accountant in the New Zealand Shipping Company's Wellington olfice, said Baillie used to i-aru £3 a week wages, and a conditional bonus of £1 a month, which he never lost.. Ho worked for the company in Wellington 21 years, and he also worked for it in Lyttclton. Ho might have gone on working at his job for' another M or 15 years. He was a very active, man. His particular work was to tafco charge of tho gear—a trustworthy position. Alfred Adams, wharf labourer, said that at the lime of the fatality he was working at CO paces from tho capstan. When 'ho. reached the spot, Uaillio was beim; whirled round the capstan. On the plato surrounding the pin being taken up, ho saw that; the pin was jammed u"itinst the planking of tho wharf. "Patrick Ruddy, wharf labourer, said he was working with Baillie all the afternoon of the accident. Witness was shuntin" empty meat trucks when the accident occnired. He hooked the line to the trucks and others took it to the capstan. Walkin" towards the deceased, he saw that his body was getting wound round the capstan. Deceased sang out for someone to cut the rope, and witness did so. Ito did not see deceased put his foot on the button. ■ Frank .Teller, chief, foreman stevedore, for the New Zealand Shipping.Company, said that after ho arrived at the scene of the accident the capstan kept going for Bitot her half-minute. H could not have, been going more than three or four minutes in all. On subsequent examination he saw that tho upright spindle was caught under the decking of the wharf. An iron guiding-bracket had been put there since. Deceased ivas considered the ablest man available for his work. Nobody knew better how to work the capWeston: It was not correct to strike the button violently with the foot, but he did not think it should do any l!! Coli'n Campbell, employed on the wharf as foreman by the New Zealand Shipping Company, arid George Tollman, wharl labourer, also gavo evidence. Tho latter "■ud that he had often found it impossible to stop the capstan without shutting off the water. That was seven ■years ago. Ho lad had some difficulty with it.since. Tho hearing will be resumed at 10 a.m. to-day. '