A Quarryman’s Fight for Justice
A stone quarry worker sues his employer for over $11,000 after a rockfall left him permanently crippled, citing negligence and ignored warnings.
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Emil Olson has filed a lawsuit in superior court against Charles A. Carlson, seeking $11,350 in damages. Olson alleges that while working at a stone quarry in Port Orchard on May 29, 1893, he was severely injured when a large rock loosened and fell upon him, breaking his leg and bruising his head. The suit claims Carlson was negligent; Olson and his fellow laborers had reportedly warned the owner that the rock was loose and ready to fall. Carlson, after an inspection, allegedly told them it was safe to continue working. Olson, having no prior experience in stone quarries, relied on this assurance until the rock fell. He is now seeking compensation for his permanent injuries, loss of wages, and pain and suffering.
“Olson alleges that... his fellow laborers notified Carlson that the rock was ready to fall and should be removed, but that Carlson... told the laborers in Olson's hearing that it was safe to work under the rock.”
This is a classic industrial-age labor dispute regarding worker safety and employer liability. It highlights the brutal physical costs of the region's early extraction industries and the power dynamic where workers were often coerced into unsafe conditions by those who held the purse strings.
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