KILLED IN A HOLD

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 121, 23 May 1914, Page 6

KILLED IN A HOLD

CLAIM FOR £2000 JURY DISAGREES. The hearing of the case Lucinda Cald well v. the Union Steam Ship Company waa completed yesterday, but no conclusion was reached, as the jury disagreed. Mrs. . Caldwcll, for whom Mr. A. Gray, K.C., and Mr. E. J. Fitzgibbun appeared, sued for £2000 damages for the death of her husband, Thomas Caid-, Well, who on 31st March was killed in the hold of the steamer Maitai. He and a companion had landed a sling of superphosphates, and the- deceased, without looking up, went out into the square of the hatch before the load had been swung out. The sling broke for some reason which no one has been able to determine, and Caldwell was killed. Mr. T. M. Wilford, who with Mr. T. Levi appeared for the defendant company, and Mr. Gray addressed the Court after The Post went to press yesterday, and his Honour (Mr. Justice Hosking) summed up. After the Judge had finished his address, Mr. Wilford said that, in order to preserve to the defendant company its legal _ rights, he would ask his Honour to direct the jury that the amount of damages was limited to £500 under the provisions of the Workers' Compensation Act. He presumed that the suggestion would not be accepted by his Honour; but the rights of the company ■would nevertheless still be preserved to them. The application was opposed by Mr. Gray, who said the. matter v/a-s not one for the jury. . His Honour declined to direct tho jury as asked by Mr. Wilford, but noted the point to enable the defendants to protect such rights as they might be found to have in the matter. The jury then retired, and did not return till 8 o'clock. The foreman then said the jurj had not' been able to agree. Eight were agreed on the first issue — whether the company had exercised due care in permitting the use of, the sling j in 'question. The second question was whether the deceased, by eiiercising proper care, could have avoided the injury ; and on this, nine were agreed. The foreman said he did not think '&Bat a threefourths majority could be obtained on all the issues. After a further retirement of ten minutes to complete a four-hours' consideration, the jury, being still ab odds, was dismissed. Application for a rehearing, his Honour said, must be made at a later date.