WOMAN'S INJURIES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22466, 9 July 1936, Page 17

WOMAN'S INJURIES

BOCK FROM QUARRY JLAIM FOR £6BO DAMAGES ACCIDENT AT DEVONPORT BOROUGH COUNCIL SUED A claim for damages against the Devonport Borough Council arising from an accident in Church Street, Devonport, on October 3 of last year, was licard by Mr. Justice Callan and a special jury in the Supreme Court yesterday. The plaintiffs were Gordon Strachan Miller, of Auckland, boatbuilder, and his wife, Violet Miller. Mrs. Mi Her claimed that while siie w as walking along Church Street she was struck by a piece of metal thrown t,v blasting from a Borough Council quarry 011 -Mount Cambria, about 200 yards distant. She claimed she suffered a broken nose, concussion of the brain, facial abrasions and severe nervous shock, and was still incapacitated as a result. It was alleged that the accident was .caused by the negligence of the council in failing to take proper precautions, in using a charge of too great strength and failing to give the public reasonable warning of the blasting operations. The husband claimed £IOO general and £29 los special damages and Mrs. Miller £ooo general and £'s2 special damages, her special damages being for loss of profits 011 her dressmaking busiior 26 weeks. Denial 0! Liability i'he defence made a general denial of liability for the occurrence, and claimed that it was the result of an inevitable au j Goldwater appeared for the plaintiffs and Mr. Freudergast for the defence. . Mr. Henry said that at the time of the accident Mrs. Miller, two of her sisters and two children were walking along Church Street at about 2.30 p.m. They Heard a loud report coming from the"direction of the council's quarry and immediately afterwards Mrs. Miller was struck by a piece of stone. The council made a point blank denial that either it or its servants or agents knew anything about the matter. Mr. Henry said he would submit that the council was iiable absolutely without proof of negligence. The two ques- | tions for the jury would be whether j the council was guilty of negligence that j caused the injury, and whether it was ! guilty of a breach of the statutory provisions governing quarries. The facts themselves, Mr. Henry said, gave very stroll" evidence that the council had been negligent. Peter -John Walsh, a resident of Albert Roau, Devouport, said that before last October he had had occasion to complain to the council of rocks coming 011 to buildings 011 his property from the quarry. He first complained to workmen 011 the job and on the second occasion he complained to the town clerk, a councillor and the Mayor. His back door aiid doorstep were; struck. Later he saw stones striking\ the roofs of neighbours' bouses. One 1 rock in his garden was too big for him j to lift. " Things Went Black " Mrs. Miller, aged 49, who was allowed to remain seated on account of her health, said she heard a big explo- j sion on October 3. Then, she was struck by something, and things went binck. She. detailed the injuries she had suffered and .was still suffering. Her j memory had 'been affected. Witness denied to Mr. Prendergast that her health had been poor since j an operation about three years ago. A nurse used to call her the healthiest woman in Devon port. The witness' broke down during the cross-examination, and had to be partly ; carried from Court. Miss Daisy Chamberlain, a sister of j Mrs. Miller, who was with her at the j time of the.- accident, said that after the explosion «she turned and saw Mrs. Miller falling. Smaller stones fell about their feet. The explosion was the loudest she had ever heard there, and it shook half Devonport. A man with a barrow and a broom afterwards gathered up stones from the spot where Mrs,'Miller'had been standing. Her health had been very seriously affected. Mrs. Olive Spraggon, another sister of Mrs. Miller, who was with her at the time of the accident, gave a similar account. An occasion when a large piece of stone was thrown from the quarry 011 to his roof was recalled by Joseph Patrick Wright, a near by resident. Saw Stones Fall on Roofs Evidence was given by Mrs. Isabel Allan, living at the corner of Cracroft Street and Vauxliall- Road, that there had been a "terrific explosion" on the afternoon of October 3 and that she saw stones falling 011 the roots of houses. Some fell on her roof. Similar evidence was given by Mrs. Eileen Da vies, another resident of Cracroft Street. Medical evidence regarding Mrs. Miller's condition was given by Dr. J. E. Caughe.v, who said her symptoms were liable to persist for 12 or 18 months; by Dr. H. C. P. Bennett, who said her outlook and mental condition had been changed in every respect by the accident; and by Dr. T. G. Short, who said she was in a very nervous and emotional condition. Her memory might be permanently impaired. The plaintiff, Gordon S. Miller, told of thfe injuries his wife had received and described his negotiations with the Mayor, Mr. H. F. W. Meikle. Mr. Meikle said such an accident would not occur again as he had had the type of explosive changed. Prior to the accident, Mrs. Miller had always been very cheerful and took an interest in all S'»rts of outdoor sports. Adjournment of Hearing A qiiarrv foreman at Penrose, M. H. Williams, said that at the Devonport Council's quarry at M.ount Cambria the strata of rock were very irregular. The property was bounded on all sides j by thoroughfares and was in a thicklypopulated district. It was very incorrect practice to blast in such a situation without covering, such as tea-tree fascines or old bags weighted down. By agreement, the evidence of Dr. T. W. .1. Johnson on behalf ol the defendant was interpolated during the afternoon. - Dr. Johnson said he had found Mrs. Miller very emotional, but there was no evidence of any organic disease. He thought she would make a complete recovery in about six months. , Also for the defence, Dr. C. M. Rout said lie had found Mrs. Miller in a state of acute neurasthenia. He thought she would make a complete recovery in from three to six months after the conclusion of the litigation. The hearing was adjourned until this morning.