This is common knowledge. There is not an industrial institution in this country, great or small, where that practice is not being carried on to-day; and that has been the custom and usage among men from the dawn of civilization down to the present day, and will continue to be practised in the future, just so long as the human heart beats in sympathy for the unfortunate, and desires to aid suffering humanity. The same principle underlies all other avocations of life. Even armies while engaged in actual warfare observe and obey this rule when possible. The soldier who refuses to render surgical or medical aid to the victim of his own sword, is eschewed by all decent men; while upon the other hand, all who administer to the wants and necessities of the sick and wounded are considered as God’s noblemen and as princes among men. So universally true and deep-seated is this humane feeling among men, and so universally recognized and practised among them, that it has become a world-wide rule of moral conduct among men, brothers, friends and foes; and it says to one and all, You must exercise all reasonable efforts and means at hand to alleviate the pain and suffering and save the lives and limbs of those who have been stricken in your presence. For the violation of this rule of moral conduct there is no penalty attached save the condemnation of God and the scorn of all good men and women.
But seeing the wisdom, goodness and justice of this moral law, the law of the land laid its strong hand upon it, the same as it did upon many other good and useful customs of England, and breathed into it a living rule of legal conduct among men. It says unto all who employ labor that, because of this universally practised custom of men to furnish medical and surgical aid for those who are stricken in their presence, you must furnish the employee with such services when he is so badly injured that he is incapacitated from caring for himself.
This is but the application or extension of the common-law rule which requires the master to furnish his servant with a safe place in which to work, and safe instrumentalities with which to perform that labor.
That law grew out of the old customs and usages of the English people, of furnishing their servants with a safe place in which to work and safe instrumentalities with which to labor. So universally true was that custom that the law read into all contracts of labor an implied promise on the part of the master to furnish those safeguards to his servants. There is no statutory or written law upon the subject. It is simply what is called the unwritten or common law of England, which has been adopted by statutes in this and many other States of the Union.
So in like manner into the universal custom of employers furnishing his employees with medical aid when so badly injured that they could not care for themselves, the common law, as in the cases of the safety appliances before mentioned, breathed an implied agreement or duty on the part of the former to furnish the latter medical or surgical aid whenever he was so badly injured that he could not care for himself.
This law, like the one previously mentioned, has no statutory origin, but has ripened into a law from wise and humane usages and customs that are so old that the memory of man runneth not to the contrary, and will continue so long as the conduct of man is prompted and governed by love and humane sentiments.
As previously stated, I am firmly of the opinion that the petition stated a good cause of action against the defendant, and that the evidence was sufficient to make a case for the jury; and so believing, I think the action of the trial court in granting a new trial to the plaintiff for the first and second reasons assigned by counsel for defendant, was not erroneous, but proper.[[117]]
DEPUE v. FLATAU
Supreme Court, Minnesota, March 15, 1907.
Reported in 100 Minnesota Reports, 299.
Action in the District Court for Watonwan County to recover $5000 for personal injuries. The case was tried before Lorin Cray, J., who, at the conclusion of plaintiff’s testimony, dismissed the action. From an order denying a motion for a new trial, plaintiff appealed. Reversed.
Brown, J. The facts in this somewhat unusual case are as follows: Plaintiff was a cattle buyer, and accustomed to drive through the country in the pursuit of his business, buying cattle, hides, and furs from the farmers. On the evening of January 23, 1905, about five or 5.30 o’clock, after having been out a day or two in the country, he called at the house of defendants, about seven miles from Madelia, where he resided. His object was to inspect some cattle which Flatau, Sr., had for sale, and if arrangements could be made to purchase the same. It was dark at the time of his arrival, but he inspected the cattle in the barn, and suggested to defendant that, being unable to determine their value by reason of the darkness, he was not prepared to make an offer for the cattle, and requested the privilege of remaining over night, to the end that a bargain might be made understandingly in the morning. His request was not granted. Plaintiff then bought some furs from other members of defendants’ family, and Flatau, Sr., invited him to remain for supper. Under this invitation plaintiff entered the house, paid for the furs, and was given supper with the family. After the evening meal, plaintiff and both defendants repaired to the sitting-room of the house, and plaintiff made preparation to depart for his home. His team had not been unhitched from the cutter, but was tied to a hitching post near the house. The testimony from this point leaves the facts in some doubt. Plaintiff testified that soon after reaching the sitting-room he was taken with a fainting spell and fell to the floor. He remembers very little of what occurred after that, though he does recall that, after fainting, he again requested permission to remain at defendants’ over night, and that his request was refused. Defendants both deny that this request was made, and testified, when called for cross-examination on the trial, that plaintiff put on his overshoes and buffalo coat unaided, and that, while adjusting a shawl about his neck, he stumbled against a partition between the dining-room and the sitting-room, but that he did not fall to the floor. Defendant Flatau, Jr., assisted him in arranging his shawl, and the evidence tends to show that he conducted him from the house out of doors and assisted him into his cutter, adjusting the robes about him and attending to other details preparatory to starting the team on its journey. Though the evidence is somewhat in doubt as to the cause of plaintiff’s condition while in defendants’ home, it is clear that he was seriously ill and too weak to take care of himself. He was in this condition when Flatau, Jr., assisted him into the cutter. He was unable to hold the reins to guide his team, and young Flatau threw them over his shoulders and started the team towards home, going a short distance, as he testified, for the purpose of seeing that the horses took the right road to Madelia. Plaintiff was found early next morning by the roadside, about three quarters of a mile from defendants’ home, nearly frozen to death. He had been taken with another fainting spell soon after leaving defendants’ premises, and had fallen from his cutter, where he remained the entire night. He was discovered by a passing farmer, taken to his home, and revived. The result of his experience necessitated the amputation of several of his fingers, and he was otherwise physically injured and his health impaired. Plaintiff thereafter brought this action against defendants, father and son, on the theory that his injuries were occasioned solely by their negligent and wrongful conduct in refusing him accommodations for the night, and, knowing his weak physical condition, or at least having reasonable grounds for knowing it, by reason of which he was unable to care for himself, in sending him out unattended to make his way to Madelia the best he could. At the conclusion of plaintiff’s case, the trial court dismissed the action, on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to justify a recovery. Plaintiff appealed from an order denying a new trial.