Wriglesworth v. Doyle

The plaintiff, while working upon premises owned by the defendant, was injured when a ceiling upon which he was standing fell. Plaintiff recovered a verdict for damages and defendant appeals.

The defendant, a meat cutter by trade, in 1956 purchased the building in which the accident occurred. In 1963 he started some remodeling. He hired a carpenter and an electrician, Nelson, to do the work. The plaintiff was an electrician who worked for Nelson.

In one of the rooms the ceiling had been lowered from its original 15-foot height to about nine feet. This had been done before defendant’s ownership.…