Under statutory rules a shot in a mine should have been fired in the following way:-The miner’s duty was to insert and stem the detonator which was given to him by a duly appointed official called the shot-firer. The shot-firer’s duty it then was to attach the end of the cable to the detonator, thereafter to couple up the other end of the cable, which had to be at least 20 yards in length, with
the electrical apparatus, having, however, before doing so seen that all persons in the vicinity had taken proper shelter. A shot-firer was in the habit of getting the miners to attach the cable to the detonator. He handed a detonator and the end of the cable to a miner. The miner had inserted and stemmed the detonator and attached the end of the cable to it, and had turned round and was just going away for shelter when the charge was fired. The miner was seriously injured. The arbiter found that the accident arose out of the employment, and was not to be attributed to the miner having arrogated to himself duties outwith the sphere of his employment.
Held (rev. judgment of the Second Division) that the arbiter’s finding was right.
Judges:
Lord Dunedin, Lord Kinnear, Lord Atkinson, Lord Shaw, and Lord Parmoor
Citations:
[1914] UKHL 496, 51 SLR 496
Links:
Jurisdiction:
Scotland
Personal Injury, Health and Safety
Updated: 26 April 2022; Ref: scu.620717