Martel v. Wallace

The hole in the floor was near a corner of a newly built room and had been left for the installation of an elevator from the floor below. With the room bare and well lighted as it was when the plaintiff was there, warning of the hole in an uncovered condition might be held unnecessary. But when the plaintiff went to the room to do his work, one of the defendants’ employees had just covered the hole with some pans ordinarily used to catch the drippings of oil underneath automobiles while in a garage. They were placed over the hole to keep the dust and dirt from dropping through it to the room…