Plourde v. Auclair

The workmen’s compensation act applies to “Work, in any shop, mill, factory or other place on, in connection with or in proximity to, any hoisting apparatus, or any machinery propelled or operated by steam or other mechanical power in which shop, mill, factory or other place five or more persons are engaged in manual or mechanical labor.” P. L., c. 178, s. 1, cl. II.

Webster defines machinery as “machines, in general, or collectively;, also, the working parts of a machine, engine, or instrument.” A machine is “a construction or contrivance of a mechanical sort”; specifically “ (formerly in…