Shaftic v. Commonwealth Coal & Coke Co.

Per Curiam,

Plaintiff, an experienced coal miner, employed in a nongaseous mine, was called by a fellow workman into an adjoining room in the mine to assist in discharging a blast required to “shoot down the coal”; a hole three and a half feet deep had been drilled into the coal, explosives placed in the cavity but not solidly tamped the full length, the fuse necessary to discharge the blast inserted and lighted, but, being defective, an explosion prematurely occurred, severely injuring both plaintiff and his fellow workman. Plaintiff now seeks to recover compensation for his injury under…