Duffey v. Consolidated Block Coal Co.

At the time of the injuries complained of the plaintiff was a coal miner and an employee of the defendant. The defendant was operating its mine in what is known in the record as the. “low coal” district. The coal vein in this region is thin, and the entries are correspondingly low, usually running less than five feet in height. On the day of the accident plaintiff was directed by the pit boss to engage temporarily in driving a mule in one of the entries, known in the record as the “first left entry.” That is to say, the cars were drawn by a mule, and the plaintiff was required to bring in…