Worker Safety Guard Negligence Supersedes Assumption of Risk

A worker, injured while operating machinery that lacked a mandatory safety guard, sued the employer for failing to provide a safe working environment, arguing the absence of the guard was a fault. The employer argued that the worker, knowing of the danger, failed to use protective measures available to him, thereby accepting the risk. The court rejected the employer's appeal, reasoning that the employer's fundamental obligation to ensure the safety of the workplace by installing required protective devices is absolute and cannot be discharged by the worker's negligence or assumption of risk, as the employer's breach of statutory safety requirements constituted the primary cause of the accident.