Fatality on T.H. & B. Tunnel Work - September 1895

It was a serious accident, but not so serious as to provoke a lot of newspaper coverage. Not every daily newspaper in Hamilton did, allow reference was made in the both Globe and the Hamilton Times.

From the Hamilton Times, September 2, 1895:

“There was a cave-in on the T.H.&B. tunnel, near Caroline street on Saturday night. It caused a large kerosene lamp, which was used near the steam shovel, to fall on a man named Thos. Faulknor. Who was at work on the cut. Faulknor was covered with the burning fluid, and before help arrived, his arms and breast were badly burned. After a long delay, he was removed by polive to the city hospital, where his painful injuries were dressed.”¹

¹ “A Cave-In”

Hamilton Times. September 2, 1895.

Sadly, after a week of suffering, Faulknor succumbed to his injuries :

“Mr. Thos. Faulknor, bricklayer, who was injured a week ago Saturday night by being burned by gasoline, died about 12 o’clock on Saturday night at the City Hospital.

“This is the first fatality in connection with the T.H. & B. work in this city.”²

² “Death Ended His Misery : Thos. Faulknor, Who Was Burned in the Tunnel, Is Dead.”

Hamilton Times.   September 9, 1894.

In the Times announcement of Faulknor’s passing, an explanation was provided as to why it took so long to get the injured man to the hospital:

“The ambulance was away at the time and after a wait of one or two hours, the injured man was removed to the City Hospital.”²

For Faulknor’s wife, it was a difficult and heart-rending vigil :

“It was thought that his injuries would not prove fatal, but on Saturday, he grew rapidly worse and died late at night – exactly a week and two hours after the accident.

“On Saturday afternoon, Faulknor’s wife was told that he could not live. She visited the dying man and, after leaving the hospital, walked up and down Victoria avenue for over a hour, crying loudly. It was a touching sight.”²

The city coroner was informed of Faulknor’s death and he decided to hold an inquest. A jury was summoned and met  at Cooper’s hotel. The jury then proceeded to the hospital on Barton street to view the body. They then adjourned for a week, the formal inquest to be held at No. 3 Police station on King William street on September 16, 1895.

The inquest took place before Coroner White and 15 jury members:

“Mrs. Faulknor was represented by Mr. J.V. Teetzel, who cross-examined the witnesses for the purpose of attaching the responsibility for the accident on the contractors, Clifford Brothers. He was fairly successful, as eleven of the jurors signed a verdict, which was as follows:

‘ ‘That Thomas Faulknor came to his death by the caving in of a bank on the T.H. & B. tunnel, and we are of opinion that there was neglect on the part of the contractor in not taking ordinary precautions to prevent the bank from falling in on his employees.”³

³ “Blamed the Contractors : Coroner’s Jury Says They Were Responsible For Faulknor’s Death”

Hamilton Times.  September 17, 1895.

John Clifford on behalf of his business testified about the nature of the work being done by the steam shovel. He attributed the accident to the laying of temporary water pipes which had been put in place to provide water for residents being the tunnel cut. The pipes were just four feet back from the edge of the bank. He also claimed that the contract he signed called for the removal of dirt, but not for the shoring up of the sides of the dig. That responsibility in Clifford’s opinion belonged to the overall contractor, Mr. Onderdonk.

On the day of the accident, Clifford testified that he did not think the site was dangerous, but about 5 p.m., there had been a small cave-in. He felt that could have been more cave-ins and warned  all men to keep away from the shovel while it was in operation.

Clifford testified that Faulknor ignored that warning :

“The deceased did not obey the orders. He should not have gone there until the whistle blew. His duties were to screw a jack on the back side of the shovel and prepare the track for it to be moved along. He said he had no insurance on his men when the accident happened, but has insured their lives since.”³

Two other employees with the Clifford Brothers company testified that Faulknor had been warned not to go behind the shovel, but one, under cross-examination, admitted it was necessary to do so to discharge his duties.

After testimony from a few others, the Coroner called an end to the evidence gathering and ordered the jury to deliberate and come up with a decision. It took nearly an hour for the jury to reappear. During deliberations, some very heated discussions could heard coming from the jury room.

Ultimately a unanimous verdict could not be reached, so the coroner accepted a majority decision. 15 of the 20 jurors would agree on the formal verdict.

It was announced that Mrs. Faulknor would sue for damages.

On January 15, 1895, Mrs. Carrie Faulknor’s $10,000 suit came up at the High Court. The jury’s decision was in her favor for the amount of $1,500:

“The damages were assessed as follows : $250 for each of the four children of deceased, and $500 for the widow.

“The Judge submitted a list of five questions to the jury, three of which were, in effect: Did Faulknor voluntarily assume the risk of being hurt, know that his work was dangerous? Did the defendant’s negligence contribute to Faulknor’s death? And if so, in what way? The first question the jury ignored altogether. The answer to the second was in the affirmative, and to the third, the answer was ‘by not sloping the banks.’ ”⁴

⁴ “The Faulknors’ Get $1,500 : Heavy Damages for Injuries From a Tunnel Cave-In.”

Hamilton Times.   January 16, 1896