Lavender

This is an action for personal injuries to a workman under the laws of Arizona. The plaintiff was working as the engineer and operator of a gasoline drag-line dredger, engaged in road work. This machine had canvas curtains, which could be rolled up, and which were designed to protect the operator from the sun and wind. One of these curtains was caught in- the gearing, and, as it was wound up, it caught the plaintiff, and seriously and permanently injured him.

The workmen’s compensation statutes of the state of Arizona are peculiar, in that they allow an injured employee either to proceed at common law, or to accept a periodical compensation, limited to the gross sum of $4,000, or to bring an action in the common-law courts, in which certain defenses are inhibited.

After the plaintiff had been in the hospital for some time, he was notified that there was a check for him at the local express office. He went there, and received a check, for the amount which would have been due him under the compensation provisions of the statute. At the same time, he signed a paper, which turned out to be an election to accept the compensation. However, he testified that he was not permitted to…