Starkweather v. Dunlap

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Dawson, J.:

The plaintiff sued the defendants, his employers, for damages suffered by him while working in a sewer trench which was being constructed by defendants in Garden City. ' His petition charged negligence in the failure of defendants to place braces in the trench to support its walls; and as a consequence a cave-in occurred which seriously crushed and injured him.

The defendants pleaded plaintiff’s assumption of risk and contributory negligence. The cause was tried before a jury, but when all the evidence for both plaintiff and defendants was…