The Man Who Lost His Fingers to a 'Careless' Machine
A Seattle planerman sues his employers for $7,500 after industrial machinery mangled his hand, claiming the company’s negligence caused the accident.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
SHRINK OF HAND. Mr. J. Whitaker, a planer man, who has been employed in the saw and factory at Seattle, lost four of the fingers on his right hand the other day, by the sudden starting up of the machinery while he was doing some work with one of the tools. Mr. Whitaker claims that his loss is due to the carelessness of the company and he expects to employ a Seattle lawyer to bring suit against the proprietors of the Seattle works for damages in the sum of $7,500.
This 1890s account of an industrial accident highlights the precarious safety standards of early Seattle’s timber industry. While workers like Whitaker fought for compensation through civil suits—a rare and difficult path—the lack of workers' compensation laws meant that a career-ending injury often resulted in financial ruin, mirroring modern debates over workplace safety enforcement and corporate liability.
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