The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-11-14

! "contributory negligence" are two NOR
, rules applied in determining damag,
/ suits for injuries sustained in the cours,
of employment, and the courts hav,
, fortified themselves with such an array
of decisions and presidents ms to stag
ger the layman when he undertakes tc
offer suggestions for a more equitable
procedure in the adjudication OF sucl
claims. A "fellow servant" under the
old common law, is held to apply to all
persons who are in the service of the
same employer, engaged in the accom-
plishment of the same general purpose
acting in one common service and de-
irving their pay from the same source
! When originally adopted as the rule OF
| the common law, there were no rail-
roads or steamships, nor factories half a
mile long driven with enormous boilers,
or possibility by electricity, no auto
matte machinery with its system of cogs
and power transmission. fellow SER
want under an industrial system where
not over three to five workmen were
employed in any one industry did not
| add any great additional hazard to the
| assumed risk of occupation.
Our Vermont employers liability law
provides that the negligence of a fellow
servant is a defense, whether the injury
was caused or contributed to by certain
causes; also, the rule Of contrbutory
negligence, which involves some act that
the workman himself should not have
done at a certain time or place, which
may have contributed to an injury to
himself, or some act he should have done
N nd failal 10 1o .aoaar1t,,, 20,
which is governing principle in
courts Of law. constituting contributory
negligence. therefore we claim improve
ment in this direction is greatly need
ed
In bringing complaint, the injured man
is required to allege that he did not
cause his own injury, and he must prove
by preponderance OF evidence that he
did not in any way aid in causing the
injury complained Of. Thus, at the very
outset, a presumption OF law is estab-
lished that he did cause his own trou-
bic, and this presumption must be dis
proved before any recovery may be had. |
This is manifestly unfair, and the closer |
we analyze the doctrine OF ''contribu- !
tory negligence" the more apparent II I
becomes that there Is "heads | win |
and tails you lose joke hidden some /
where in this rule. To mind not |
trained in legal analysis, il appears that /
if workman assumes the risk of his
then of course, if any in
Jury occurs, he contributed to his injury
by not refusing to accept the hazard.
II he assumes the hazard of his occu-
patton and accepts employment in the
place provided by the employer, he again
to his own injury if any oc-
,urs to him. So, too, if he assumes the
-isk of the negligence of his fellow SER
fant, which results in his injury, he
mas once more contributed to his own
because he did not refuse
o work in company with the person
whose negligence caused the injury.
There is still another rule of the law,
Known as the law of contribution,
which seriously affects the relations be- ,
ween employer and employee, or at =
east might seriously affect the working !
lass, should its application ever be.
ONE general.
The law of contribution as legally !
applies where two or more !.
re jointly. or jointly and severally :
ound to pay sum of money, and one !
r more of them pays the whole or more !
han his or their share. Those pay
lg the whole amount or more than their
hare of the full amount. may recover
rom those not paying the proportion !,
hich they ought to pay. According to i
n eminent legal authority, this law OF =
,ntribution can be used in all matters :
rowing out of contract where one of =
he contracting parties pays an obliga- q
on, and others equally with himself n
ere bound to share in the payment The :,
W also applies and can be used in :,
ost wrongs growing out of some neg :,
gent act of servant, the damage for ~
hich the employer is called upon TO :. :,
title. :.
Wrongs of this character are presumed ~
1t to be intentional. If the employer
an action of law is compelled to pay o.
~ damage resulting from such wrong, -
) has right to set in motion the law " 20
contribution" and force the person y
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