Jarke v. Jackson Products

On January 31, 1988, plaintiff George Jarke, who was employed as a mechanic for a tool and die manufacturer, was removing a metal plate called a "keeper” from a furnace car. According to his estimate, he had performed this task approximately 10 times before. The keeper was welded to the wheelbase of the furnace car, and in order to remove it, plaintiff used an arc welder to melt the old weld bead. The only vantage point from which he could cut the plate was beneath the car while sitting in a shallow pit, a position which afforded him very little headroom; and in order to fit under the car, he…