Worker Injury: Employer Negligence vs. Contributory Negligence in Machinery Safety Violation

A worker, injured while using machinery that lacked a mandatory safety guard as required by regulations in place at the time, sued the employer for damages. The employer argued that the worker's own failure to use available personal protective equipment constituted contributory negligence that should reduce or eliminate the awarded compensation. The court rejected the appeal, affirming that the employer's absolute obligation to ensure compliance with safety regulations regarding machinery, an obligation which directly caused the injury through the absence of the required guard, could not be mitigated by the worker's failure to use separate, individual protective gear, as the violation of the specific safety standard for the equipment itself constituted the primary fault.