York v. Clow

The defendant, who owned and operated a sawmill in Wolfeboro, employed the plaintiff, an independent contractor, to repair the safety-valve of a steam-boiler located in the mill. The blow-off or waste-pipe ran from the safety-valve out through the south wall of the boiler-room about nine feet from the ground. The engine-room adjoined the boiler-room on the east, and the two rooms were separated merely by a movable pipe-rail. The dynamo-room adjoined the boiler-room on the west.

After the plaintiff had repaired the valve, he took his tools to the chest in the dynamo-room and remained there…