Wilder ex rel. Wilder v. Great Western Cereal Co.

The defendant operated an oat meal mill at Ft. Dodge, and the plaintiff, a boy of 19 years, had his hand caught in one of its machines in September, 1902, and so injured that amputation was necessary. Prior to his employment by defendant he had had no experience with machinery other than that used on the farm. From November, 1901, until the last of the following May, except one month, he worked for defendant as a roustabout; that is, helping load and unload cars, scooping coal, filling and trucking sacks, moving machinery, and the like. Beginning in July, 1902, he acted as doorkeeper on the…