ARBITRATION COURT

Evening Star, Issue 19006, 30 July 1925, Page 9

ARBITRATION COURT

DUNEDIN SITTING The Dunedin sitting of the Arbitration Court was resumed this morning, His Honor Mr Justice Frazer presided, and associated with him were Mr W. Ar°Tr ( eni Pl°yers’ representative) and Mr H. Hunter (employees’ representative). LOSS OF AN EYE. Iho case of Samuel William Jarvis (Mr Anderson) v. the Otago Harbor Jioard (Mr Haggitt), claim for the loss ot an eye, was continued, some of the medical evidence having been taken on Saturday. r l ho plaintiff said that the accident occurred on October 17, 1924, at the fishermen's steps, Port Chalmers. lie was working on a pile driver, which was a punt with a boiler on it. Ho was oil the second landing “pitching” a pile, another employee being three or four feet away from witness. The wind was blowing the- smoke in his direction, and a cinder struck the corner of his loft eye. When witness went home he noticed a scar on his eye, about as big as a match head, and a discharge started about a. week afterwards. Ho saw Dr Bowie on November 28, and was given an ointment, but the eye did not get any bettor. On March .3 ho called on Dr Eoss at the hospital, and then went to the X-ray department. He saw Dr Moody on the following day, who sent him on to Dr Pickorill. The latter stated that in all probability witness would lose the eye. He went under the operation on March ,12, and left the institution on March >3O. He was still under ilie care of Dr Pickerill. The sight of the right eye had not been affected. Before the accident there had been nothing the matter, with the eye. He went to See the , insurance company on April 30. accompanied by Mr Demon, of the Harbor Board office, but no offer was made.

To Mr Haggitt; Ho supplied the Harbor Hoard with particulars of the accident for the insurance company. Alexander Robertson, superintending engineer, of the Otago Harbor Board, stated that plaintiff had been working under him approximately about seven years. Ho had noticed a small red sore in the corner of the left eye when Jarvis was working at Port Chalmers. They discussed the injury, and plaintiff told him that he had received it through a spark from the boiler. Jarvis had worked under him about seven years, but as far as the witness knew he had been in the employ of board for about twenty years. The witness had been working for the board for thirty years. He had not previously noticed any trouble with Jaivis’s eye. John Anderson Arnett also si ami that he had observed the progress ol the injury to Jarvis’s eye. The "itness had known Jarvis for over flurry years, and had not noticed that Jarvis bad any prior injury to the eye. About three weeks or a month after the accident, stated the witness hi reply to Mr Haggitt, he advised Jarvis to see a doctor. Albert Edward Cnlder, pile driver in the employ of the .Otago Harbor Board, stated that he was working with Jarvis on the dav of the accident. The first thing 'that attracted the attention of the witness was when Jarvis put his hand up to his eye and said: ( Fin burned with a cinder.* _ r Jho eye looked very red. For some time afterwards there was an inflammation on the eye, which looked as if it was the result of the same injury ns that which ho had first noticed. John M'Ghie, an employee of the Otago Harbor Board, who was driving the engine of the pile driver when the accident occurred, said that Jarvis to.d him that ho had received a spark in the eye. The witness noticed afterwards that the eye was in a bad condition. , , f Richard Parsons, also an employee of the board, and James Henry \\ illiams Could gave evidence that they had noticed the injury’to Jarvis’s eye. The court then adjourned until the afternoon.