Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-12-20
ALL mines LOOK
alike To court
LAWS REGULATING COAL APPLY
10 LEAD AND ZINC MINES
As WELL.
PASS UPON Law OF 1912
High Court for the First Time APP
prU,cs Law Prescribing Duties
OF Operators of Minc-. y,

OKLAHOMA CITY, okla, Dec. 49,.
Especial The laws of Oklahoma
afford the same protection 10 work.
men in lead and zinc mines as to tho
workmen In coal mines; an action for
damages for wrongful death Of her
husband may be maintained by the
surviving wife where there has been
no administration of the estate; mac
Curacy in language Of instructions, un-
less Is could have mislcd the jury
affords no reason for reversal. SO de-
clared the supreme court commission
No 2, Friday in affirming $4,000
judgment of the Ottawa county dis
trict court in favor Of Mrs. Ella Par
kinson as against the Big Jack Min
ing company The case was appealed
to the higher court by the company
In July, 1910, Andrew Parkinson,
husband Of the defendant in error
Was employed in a lead and zinc
mine operated by the Big Jack COM
pauy. The mine is located at Lin
Doluville, ottawa county on July 6,
While Parkinson was engaged in his
regular work in the mine, a large rock
In the roof Of drift gave way and fell
upon him, causing hi sdeath, the peti-
ito nstltes Mrs. Parkinson iustitut-
ed suit and received Judgment of
10000
The opinion IS important for the
reason, among others, that for the
first time a higher court passes upon
the law Of 1910, prescribing duties of
mine operators toward their employees
Likewise, for the first time, the su-
prcme court interprets the statute to
be applicable, not only to coal mine
employees but TO the workmen in lead,
zinc and all other mines Counsel for
the company contended vigorously
that the law applied only to coal mine
operators and Workmen.
I'VE canont agree with this argu-
ment," says Judge Galbreath in the
opinion. we do not believe that the
legislature intended to provide with
such minute care for the protection Of
workers in coal mines and leave SIM
liar workers In lead and zinc mines |
without any protection whatever, par !
tiCularly when these statutes bear |
elusive evidence that they were in
tended by the legislature 10 protect !
the laborer not only In coal mines, but !
in every other mine in the state"
The court holds that the evidence |
shows such careless and negligent !
failure to perform the duty of inspec-
tion by the company when inspection |
might have and probably would have, |
avoided the accident resulting the !
death Of Parkinson. The original pc
titon states, briefly, that Parkinson |
was employed as a miner; that for !
some months before July /, 1910, the |
mine had been shut down and had be !
come filled with water The water !
was pumped out the latter part OF |
June and operation Of the mine COM
menced about July 1. 1t was alleged
that theer was a drift In the mine |
. so feet in length and that while the |
mine was idle the drift became brit
tic and the rocks liable to fall. On |
account Of the height It was charged, |
the deceased had no opportunity to |
inspect the drift and was therefore ig |
norant OF It's dangerous condition. On |
July G, a rock fell upon him, resulting |
in his death. The evidence Of the
foreman OF the mine, whose duty the
court holds It was to Inspect the mine,
shows that he had not inspected the
place for two weeks prior to the acci-
dent Not only was the foreman care
less and negligent, says the court but
the company was negligent for per-
hitting a dangerous condition in the
mine and is therefore liable for dam
ages as i'm this case.