James Hannah and Marsha Hannah v‪.‬

Plaintiff, James Hannah, filed a common law negligence action against his employer, Mallinckrodt, Inc. (hereafter Mallinckrodt), for injuries sustained in the course of his employment which he contends was not the result of an accident within the meaning of § 287.020.2 RSMo 1978. The trial court directed a verdict for Mallinckrodt and on appeal the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed. On application of plaintiff the case was transferred to this court. We review the case as an original appeal. Mo. Const. Art. V, § 10; Rule 83.09. The substance of plaintiff's petition is that Mallinckrodt failed to provide a safe place to work, safe methods of work, and safe appliances with which to work. His wife joined in a separate count for loss of consortium. The decisive issue before us is whether plaintiffs made a submissible case as to any of the alleged grounds of negligence. In ruling this issue we view the evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs. Howard v. Lundry, 591 S.W.2d 193 (Mo. App. 1979). However, for plaintiffs to present a submissible case of negligence, they must present substantial evidence of every fact necessary to establish the liability of defendant, Probst v. Seyer, 353 S.W.2d 798 (Mo. 1962), and it is a judicial function to determine whether negligence can be inferred from the facts, and whether plaintiffs' evidence establishes a submissible case. Powell v. Watson, 526 S.W.2d 318 (Mo. App. 1975).