Hunt v. Hurst

Appellee was employed by appellant as a common laborer in constructing a derrick to be used in drilling for oil. He was what was known, in oil field parlance, as a “roustabout,” it being his business to help do whatever was required to be done. He had worked in a similar capacity for several oil companies. One morning, about an hour after appellee commenced work, he was directed by his foreman to take a hatchet, which was lying on the derrick floor, and nail a brace on the jack-post. Appellee picked up the hatchet and some twenty-penny nails, which were about five inches long, and got a piece…