Syllabus by the Court.
One who
gets upon a fast mail train during one of its fixed stops at
a station, where these are too short for him to transact his
business and get off, has no right to notice, by signal or
otherwise, to alight before the train resumes its journey; it
not appearing that the conductor, or other proper agent, knew
that he had come aboard, nor that there was any usage or
custom to give notice or make signals for the benefit of such
visitors. This applies to a father who, in conformity to a
known custom of travel, attends his daughter, at her request
under circumstances rendering such attendance necessary, to
aid her and her infant children to enter the train and secure
seats as passengers. If, while he is in the car, the train
starts before he has finished his undertaking, he must either
remain until he can make known his wish to get off, or take
the risk of alighting while the train is in motion.
[1]
Error
from superior court, Walton county; HUTCHINS, Judge.
BLECKLEY
C.J.
The
material allegations in the declaration were these
"Plaintiff bought a ticket for his daughter and two
children, one three years, the other eight months, old, from
Social Circle to Atlanta. When the train known as the
'Fast Mail' reached Social Circle, he aided her and
the children to get on the train, and went in the car, to see
that she and they were comfortably seated. This it was proper
for him to do, on account of the age of the children, and
because his daughter had no assistant, and was carrying a
couple of bundles or boxes, and because the conductor did not
offer to aid her. Plaintiff did not have a reasonable time to
seat his daughter and children and get off the train before
it started. Before he could seat her, and without allowing
him a reasonable time to do so, and get off, the train
suddenly started, without blowing the whistle of the engine
or otherwise giving him notice that it was about to start. So
soon as he discovered the train was in motion, and while it
was moving very slowly, he started to get off. He walked out
of the car onto the platform, then stepped down to the bottom
step, and, whilst the car was moving very slowly, stepped off
upon the ground, as he thought, but it may have been upon
something negligently put there by the company. He used all
ordinary and reasonable care and diligence in stepping from
the train, was in the full possession of his physical vigor,
and had no baggage to incumber him; and his getting hurt was
the result of no fault on his part, but was the result of
negligence on the part of the company in not giving him a
reasonable time to get on and off the train, in starting
without giving notice, in not providing proper persons or
assistants to aid passengers on the train, in fixing the stop
at the station too short, in having a very rough right of way
by throwing in round rocks, in suddenly jerking the cars, as
he was about to step off, and in other respects." By
amendment to the declaration,
these averments were added: "By the time plaintiff, with
his daughter and her children, got inside the ladies'
car, the train started, without giving any signal, and
without giving him a reasonable time to put his daughter and
children on board the cars and get off before the train
started. He had a right to attend his daughter and children
into the car where she was to be conveyed, being requested by
her to do so, and it being necessary for him to get on board,
to safely place them. He had a right to be there, and to be
duly notified, by signal or otherwise, of the starting, so
that he could pass therefrom with safety. By gross negligence
the train was started without giving him any such signal or
other notice, and he was injured without any negligence on
his part in attempting, at the time the train...
