Brunswick & W. R. Co v. Moore

• Decision Date: 09 July 1897
• Parties: BRUNSWICK & W. R. CO. v. MOORE.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

28 S.E. 1000

101 Ga. 684

BRUNSWICK & W. R. CO.

v.MOORE.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

July 9, 1897.

Carriers — Liability to Passenger — Instructions—Damages.

1. Where the relation of carrier and passenger Is once established, unless that relation be terminated by the voluntary act of the passenger, or by the carrier under circumstances which would justify such a course, it continues until the passenger is safely deposited at his point of destination, and until he has left, or has had a reasonable time within which to leave, the premises of the carrier; and if, during the continuance of this relation, he suffer injury in consequence either of the negligent, wrongful, or wanton tort of one of the carrier's servants, the carrier is liable.

2. The requests to charge, so far as legal and applicable to the case as presented by the evidence, were sufficiently covered by the general charge given to the jury, and the charge as a whole fairly submitted the law bearing upon the issues in dispute.

3. The verdict is supported by the evidence, and is not excessive.

(Syllabus by the Court.)

Error from superior court, Coffee county, J. L. Sweat, Judge.

Action by Aaron Moore, as next friend of William Moore, against the Brunswick & Western Railroad Company. Plaintiff had Judgment, and defendant brings error. Affirmed.

D. H Pope, for plaintiff in error.

E. D. Graham, for defendant in error.

ATKINSON, J. The questions made in this case arose upon the following state of facts: Aaron Moore, as next friend of his son William, sued the railroad company, and obtained a verdict for $3,000. Defendant made a motion for a new trial, which being overruled, it excepted. The material testimony introduced upon the trial may be stated as follows: William Moore testified that he was 17 years of age; that he and eight other boys entered defendant's train at Alapaha, and traveled thereon as passengers to Willacoochee, a distance of 11 miles, on the night of February 9, 189G. The train stopped at Willacoochee not more than four or five seconds, just long enough for Moore to leave it. He had just reached the ground, and taken two steps, when a shot from a pistol, fired by the conductor of the train, struck him in the leg. The ball broke and went on both sides of the bone. One piece had to be cut out in one place, and the other In another place. He suffered great pain from the wound, was confined to bed for a week, after which he went around on crutches and with a stick, and about a month afterwards had to have another piece of the ball cut out which had not been found at first. He denied that he applied to the conductor the opprobrious epithet testified to by the conductor, or that he (plaintiff) had anything in his hand. The conductor testified that after making the usual stop at Willacoochee he gave the signal for the train to go ahead, and it had gone about a car length and abalf when lie heard some one say, "You damned old white-headed son of a bitch." He leaned out, and saw a man running along by the side of the train, and it looked like he had something in his right hand. He said, "It is you I am talking to, you damned white-headed son of a bitch, " and the conductor shot him. He was running along by the side of the coach. The conductor could not recognize this boy, but he could see it was a white man, and that was all. Plaintiff testified that he did not run along by the side of the train and curse the conductor, that the train was moving along when the shot was fired at him. The defendant introduced and examined several witnesses who had been summoned by the plaintiff, and separated at defendant's request. In some particulars their...