Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-04-17

Liability Of Employers.

chusetts Board of Agriculture, in
December last, Judge Bennett gave
large amount Of valuable informa-
ton on Farm Law" which is spe.
clally applicable to that State. We
make an extract relating to the
liability of = farmer for the men he
employs:
The liability of a farmer who en-.
ploys many hands may prove ex.
tremely onerous at times. AS q
general rule, he is liable for all the
injury they do while actually en-
ployed in his business: therefore if
you send boy to burn old brush
and the lad leaves his work to look
after his partridge snares or rabbit
boxes in the wood. and the fire runs
into the next field and consumes
the crops or fence of his neighbor,
you must pay the bill although you
told him to watch it carefully and
never leave it minute 6 Gilm 500;
Z Cush. 1859. If you send load of
farm prduce into town and the dri-
YER falls into doze and runs into
another team you must pay for the
broken spokes. If your man 10 GO
ing to or from the bayfield, careless.
ly swings his scythe and cuts an ug-
ly cash 10 the leg of passer-by
you had better pay the doctor bill
and get off thus easy. If in cutting
your wood man accidentally cuts
over the line on your neighbours 10.
you are responsible although you
told him where the line was (23
Mich. 298). And though your man
shows touch of righteousness in
his act done in the prosecution of
your business, and Intentionally
runs,into another team w5ich some.
what obstructs his way while jri-
wing your load, you may not screen
yourself behind his unnecessary and
wilful violation of your orders az
Alien 40; IA Mass. 5l8; 100 Mass.
154). Of course in all these cases
you could compel the servant to re-
pay you all the expenses be bad
thus caused you by his misconduct
(63 Ma. III; 43 Conn. 244) On
The other hand, to make you respnn
sponsible for his carelessness he
must have been at the perry time on
your business. If he borrows vcur
hc rse and wagon and goes off on
pleasure or business Of his own, and
runs over somebody you are mt re-
sponsihle merely because it was
your horse and wagon (26 Penn. st.
1872; much less would the master
be liable If the servant took bis
team without his knowledge on bus
mess of his own ca Daily 338)
How it would be if the fellow
was ON his own business and yours
too, is nice question which might
puzzle even philadelphia lawyer
In one instance farmer lent hts
man his team to go to town for a
holiday and asked him to stop at
the butchers on his way home and
bring along piece of meat for next
days dinner. While fulfilling this
order the man took little 'fre.w
ter and soon ran over an old wo-'
man on the public highway; but the
master was considered not RESI- on5i-
BILE. THIS was however, in the
courts of the Emerald Isle 60 Irish
l.. r. 500.
One more distinction on this sub.
ject it may be we'll Cor you to know;
and that is, that. although an EN-.
ployer is responsible for any care
less injury his men may do 10 third
persons, he is not responsible for
such an injury to other fellow work
men. II his man, therefore, by the
very same act of negligence, INJURIES
CO. laborer and also by-stander,
the latter would haveredress against
the master, and The other not; for,
by species of rather artificial reas-
oning | think, man, when hiring
out, is supposed in law to have an
ticipated any direct injury from the
carelessness of his co.laborers, and
taken the risk on himself (but not
to ais wife, liz, Mass 234 what.
ever his rate of wages. But, on the
other hand, be is not presumed to
have contemplated any negligence
on the part of bis employer; and
therefore he has q remedy against
the latter for his own personal care
lcssness, or in providing dangerous
or insufficient machinery or appara-
tus, or even in hiring VIGOROUSLY
incompetent or habitually careless
men. In one instance an employer
was compelled TO pay two hundred
dollars to his hired man, who fell
into barrel Of hot water, set in
the ground and carelessly left uncov-
cred, bat which the man did not
know of Oil Mass. 1927 And this
last rule would probably render the
employer liable for any injury to
his servants from dangerous or VIC
ious animals intrusted to them to
take care of; at least, if tho owner
knew of their character, and the
man did not. But this whole sub
ject is surrounded with subtitle dis
tinctions and my best advice to
you is, that, if you ever have such q
case, you do not rely upon this lee.
ture, nor upon any of those books
called Every Man his own Law.
yer" but go and get the best legsl
counsel you can End.
The farmer who sows his P's, keeps
his US warm, hives his BIS, kills of
| the j q, remembers what he C's. take,