Hodges v. J. Spaulding & Sons Co.

As the defendants had accepted the provisions of the employers’ liability act, Laws 1911, c. 163, the plaintiff cannot recover unless he shows that his injury was caused by the defendants’ failure to perform a duty the law imposed on them for his benefit, for at common law an employee assumes the risk of injuries caused by the negligence of his fellow-employees.

The plaintiff concedes that this is the law, but contends that the defendants are in fault because they failed to provide a competent foreman. In other words, he contends that Read was both incom petent and careless, that the…