JAMES A. FARLEY, Appellee, v. MARION POWER SHOVEL CO., INC., et al., Appellants, 60 Ill. 2d 432

Summary

Because of the shovel's size, the worker's employer was hired to assemble it at a mine, and the worker fell from a drum on the machine while so engaged. He claimed that he was using the drum as a scaffold, stay, support, or other mechanical contrivance in erecting a structure, and that defendants willfully violated the Act by failing to provide sufficient safeguards against his fall. The circuit court granted defendants' motion to dismiss on finding that the shovel was moveable personal property not within the Act's coverage. The appellate court reversed the circuit court. On review, the court found that the shovel was moveable personal property not covered by the Act, likening the worker's situation to that where a mechanic stood on a stool or ladder to paint or repair the top of an ordinary car. The court held that the legislature did not intend such an extension of the definition of "structure," and that whether the Act's protections should be extended to those working on such a ...