CIVIL CLAIM

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23262, 25 July 1945, Page 2

CIVIL CLAIM

Damages Of £l5OO Sought Accident To Employee | A claim for general damages of £l5OO bv Ivan Clifford Fmluy against Desmond Unwin l‘d. as compensation fori injuries to his right hand and conseI quent disability was heard yesterday i by Mr Justice'Northcroft and a jury I of 12 at the quarterly session of the Supreme Court in Timaru. I The hearing was adjourned at 4 p.m. I and will be resumed this morning. i For the claimant. Mr T. A. Gresson said that on March 22, 1944. Finlay had I his hand caught in a buzzer while I emnioved bv Desmond Unwin Ltd., and ultimately lost three of his lingers and I two joints of his index finger. On the I day of the accident, the foreman, I Smith, told Finlay to stand by for a rush job. He was then given a block ■ used for cutting leather to resurface, i These blocks became pitted and had to be resurfaced from time to time. He I had done similar blocks and in the i first instance had been shown by the i foreman. Smith, how to clean a block lat the buzzer. While working on the i block which caused the accident it l started to vibrate and finally the blades i of the buzzer hurled the block about ' 20ft across the shop. Finlay, who had been exerting the maximum downward pressure at the time, had his hand involved with the blades. The block which I he was cleaning or resurfacing com- I prised small segments of timber and ' was held together by an adjustable metal band. The two blades of the | buzzer which protruded slightly - . - . ,i> oct” v.-1 tables n ide i ; about 120 cuts a second. The machine , was fitted with a guard, but the guard I was seldom or ever used, but was kept, I handy to satisfy the inspector of ■ machinery. The job Finlay had been s j doing marl.? it impossible to use the | guard. The gap between the tables was ( too large, being between 3 and 4 inches and the protrusion of the blades from I ; to ./ins was also too much, these hav- ’ I ing been adjusted later by an inspector j I to a gap of about 2in between the tables I I and the level of the blades to about ; I fin above the table. • I It was claimed by Mr Gresson that [ I the buzzer was in a bad condition, ■ I being about 40 or 50 years old. The I | main bearing vibrated and instead of ; | the blades making 4000 revolutions a i ■ minute, the machine was capable of ■ I only 3.500 revolutions. The decreased ■ I speed made it dangerous. The buzzer I | was inadequately guarded and the one ! provided was not suitable. Finlay was , a carpenter, joiner-machinist and joiner. At the time of the accident he - was paid £6/13/4 a week. On resuming , work in September, 1944. after three months in hospital, he had been emi ployed as a yardman. Before the accident he had supplemented his wages by doing work at home. Although his employers were doing what they could to soften the consequences of the accident, Finlay was I dependent on a benevolent employer. At 4 p.m. the jury was allowed to inspect the actual machine and the case will be resumed to-dav. With Mr Gresson was ‘Mr A. C. Brassington and Mr A. T. Donnelly and Mr A. W. Brown are appearing for Desmond Unwin Ltd. The following common jury was empanelled:—Linford George ' Sten- | house (foreman l . Frederick Gordon I Martin, Eric Godfrey Collins. Walter I - Barnet, Donald Angus McMaster. I i Stanley Francis Turnbull, Robert John I Gibson, William Crosbie Clark, Wil- i I Ham Gordon Donaldson, Arthur Bruce. ■ I William John Robert Stevens, and ! | Colin John Dingwall.