Sylvain v. Boston & Maine Railroad

The report brings up the question whether the trial judge was right in directing a verdict for the defendant. The plaintiff, an experienced roofer’s helper, was hurt by falling from the nearly flat roof of a freight house while working for the defendant. He was rolling out a roll of tar paper along the edge of the roof, next to the cleat or flashing, while one Crowley, the roofer in charge of the job, was applying pitch to the roof ahead of the paper. Crowley saw that the paper was not rolling straight, and told the plaintiff to straighten it. Straightening a roll under such circumstances can…