Night foremen can become lifesavers only at their own risk, ruled last week Judge Nelson Mc-Vicar of the Pittsburgh Common Pleas Court. His decision saved the Fidelity & Casualty Co. $2,400, lost Mrs. Elsie A. Prettyman (widow of William A. Prettyman) the same amount.
On June 18, 1926, Mr. Prettyman, night foreman for a contracting company, rescued Anna Nice from drowning in the Alleghany River, was himself drowned. The Workmen’s Compensation Board awarded his widow $8 a week for 300 weeks. To court went the Casualty Co. Ruled Judge Mc-Vicar:
“He [Mr. Prettyman] was engaged at the time on a highly commendable humanitarian purpose, but said purpose was no part of the business or affairs of the defendant company, nor was his injury caused in the performance of duties of the company.” Thus, though Mr. Prettyman lost his life while employed by the General Contracting Co., and though he was engaged in the company’s business when the accident happened, his widow was not entitled to a compensation award because he was not hired to perform lifesaving duties.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- How Canada Fell Out of Love With Trudeau
- Trump Is Treating the Globe Like a Monopoly Board
- Bad Bunny On Heartbreak and New Album
- See Photos of Devastating Palisades Fire in California
- 10 Boundaries Therapists Want You to Set in the New Year
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- Nicole Kidman Is a Pure Pleasure to Watch in Babygirl
- Column: Jimmy Carter’s Global Legacy Was Moral Clarity
Contact us at letters@time.com