The One-Ton Ring That Bore Three Tons—and Left a Worker Paralyzed
Thomas O’Leary was repairing the City of Kingston when a bad iron ring gave way. He sued for $2,500, bedridden from the chest down, as doctors called him a cripple for life.
Trial of the suit of Thomas O'Leary vs. the Puget Sound & Alaska Steamship Company for $2,500 damages for injuries suffered while repairing the City of Kingston was resumed in the United States court yesterday. The day was devoted to testimony for the plaintiff.
It was shown that while O'Leary was on the wheel a ring gave way and that he was so injured by the fall and the machinery that fell upon him that he is paralysed from the chest down, and has been bedridden for two years. It was stated in evidence that a ring not capable of sustaining a weight of one ton was subjected to a strain of three tons, and William Campbell swore that the iron was bad.
Drs. George Newlands and Montgomery Russell, who examined O'Leary by stipulation of both parties to the action, testified that his injuries were such as would make him a cripple for life. One of the features of the case was a large diagram showing the condition of the propeller just before the accident.
When court adjourned last evening the plaintiff had rested his case, and the defendant's testimony will be heard this morning unless a motion for a nonsuit is made.
“A ring not capable of sustaining a weight of one ton was subjected to a strain of three tons, and William Campbell swore that the iron was bad.”
Industrial injury lawsuits were rare and hard-won in 1895, when a paralyzed worker had to prove a shipowner’s equipment was defective. The case echoes modern fights over workplace safety, corporate liability, and the human cost of maritime and shipyard labor.
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