ARBITRATION COURT JUDGMENTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3014, 20 December 1911, Page 9

ARBITRATION COURT JUDGMENTS.

The following judgments delivered by the Arbitration Oourt was received by Mr T. E. Roberts, clerk of awards at Dunedin: COMPENSATION CLAIM. William Barton, plaintiff, and Thcmrji Latta, defendant. Mr O'Regan for plaintiff and Mr Hay for defendant. The plaintiff in this case was employed in January last as the driver of a hauler engine at the defendant's saw mill at Owaka, Southland. On the morning of the 25th of January he got up steam in tho ordinary way, but, in oonsequence of rain, work was suspended shortly afterwards for tho day. Plaintiff then left the hauler and proceeded to the defendant's sawmill, which is about three miles distant. He took with him his axe, which ho sharpened on the grindstone at the mill." After he had done that he asked Williams, tho engine driver, to lend him his cold chisel and hammer to enable him to chip the burrs off his axe. Williams offered to do this for him. The plaintiff held the handle of the axe, and, while Williams was chipping off the burrs, a piece of iron from the back of the axe flew into tho plaintiff'is eye, and injured it. . In consequence thereof the plaintiff has lost the sight of this eye, and he claims compensation accordingly. The question to be determined is whether this accident can be said to have arisen out pf and in the course of the plaintiff's employment by tho defendant. The axe in question belonged to the plaintiff, and he required it for use in. connection with his work. Ho had to provide the axe himself, and he wa|3 supposod to keep it in order in his own time. He was working under the Southland Sawmill Workers' award (Book of Awards, vol. IX, p. 54?), and by virtue of clauso 1(c) thereof, ho was entitled to bo paid for his time while kept at the mill in Connection with getting up steam, but not for anything more, as work did not proceed at the mill that day. It appears to us that, when the plaintiff had finished his work at the hauler in the morning, his employment was .suspended until the resumption of work next day, and that what was done by him afterwards at the mill was done for his own purpose, and cannot be treated as having been done in tho course of his employment. The putting of his axe in order was not part of the work that he was employed by the defendant to do." It had to pe done in order to enable him to perform' efficiently tho work ho was employed to do, but that is not sufficient to make it work done in tho course of his employment. Herein lies the distinction between this case and

that of M'Kenzie v. Nesbitt (13 L.R., 196), on which the plaintiff relied. In that case the plaintiff was doing some* thing which it was his duty to his era. ployor to perform, and he was doing it at a time that was recognised a 3 a proper time for doing such work. A worker, while at work, may temporarily quit his employment, as the engine driver did iq Reed v. Great Western R. Co. (1909), A.O, 31. In the same way a worker whos* ordinary work for the day is over, an<J whose employment., therefore, has bec4 suspended, may temporarily resume thafc employment by commencing to do work which it is his duty to his- employee to do. That is what the plaintiff in M'Kenzie v. Nesbitt did when ho started, to put. a now handle in his employer's axe. In the present case there was no such resumption by the plaintiff of his employment, because putting his axe in order was not part of the work which he was omployed to do for his employer. It is true that this was being done in the interests of his employer. So also are many other acts which a worker performs, as for example, putting on his clothes in tho morning and having his breakfast before starting work, but it could scarcely be suggested that an accident in connection with either of those operations happened in the course of the employment, or arose out of it. In our opinion, therefore, tho accident to the plaintiff did not happen to him during the course of his employ, mont, and ho is not entitled to recover any compensation. Judgment for defendant, with casts (£7 7s) and disbursements and witnesses expenses to be fixed by the Clerk of Awards.