Bailey v. Henry Knapp & Co.

While working as a plasterer’s helper, Robert Bailey, an employee of defendant Henry Knapp & Company, was overcome by the heat of an exceptionally hot day, July 14, 1936, and died 15 hours later. Knapp & Company were engaged in construction work in the city of Grand Rapids.

The records of the United States weather bureau for the day in question show a maximum temperature of 102 degrees and a relative humidity ranging from 33 to 74 per cent. At 1:45 p. m. the previous day the temperature reached an all time high of 107½ degrees.

The attending physician testified that “the immediate cause of this…