Eaton v. Louisville & N. R. Co.
| Decision Date | 13 March 1953 |
| Citation | 259 S.W.2d 29 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky |
| Parties | EATON v. LOUISVILLE & N. R. CO. et al. |
S. J. Stallings, Louisville, for appellant.
James P. Helm, Jr., J. P. Hamilton and J. M. Terry, Louisville, for L. & N. R. Co.
Thomas J. Wood, Louisville, for Railway Express Agency.
This action was filed by appellant against L. & N. Railroad Company, the Railway Express Agency, the Pullman Company, and the Pennsylvania Railway Company to recover damages for personal injuries. The lower court sustained the demurrer of the Pennsylvania Railway Company and dismissed the action as against it and the Pullman Company. No complaint is made as to the ruling of the court concerning these two defendants. The action proceeded to trial against L. & N. Railroad Company and Railway Express Agency, and at the conclusion of appellant's evidence, a verdict was directed for the remaining two defendants. The only question on the appeal is whether or not there was evidence to justify submission to the jury.
Appellant was an employee of the Pullman Company, engaged in servicing and repairing pullman cars which were furnished by his employer to various railroad companies. At the time of his injury, he was performing his regular duties at the L. & N. station in Louisville, Kentucky, where the Pullman Company maintained and repaired a number of its cars. At this station, there are a number of tracks running south from the bumping blocks, which are used for the purpose of making up trains, repairing cars, and switching cars from one track to another to permit the orderly departure of trains. These tracks were darkened by a roof which shielded them from the sunlight.
On May 31, 1950, appellant reported for work about 3:00 p. m., and was instructed to charge the batteries on a pullman car being made up for the Pennsylvania Railway Company. The car in question was the second one from the bumping block in a group of six cars located on track 5. In order to charge the batteries, it was necessary to hook an electric cable to carry electricity from a receptacle located on the west side of track 4 to another receptacle on the east side of the pullman car. The cable was between an inch and an inch and a half in diameter, about thirty feet long, and extended some ten feet across the walkway between tracks 4 and 5.
After connecting the cable, appellant boarded the car on the east side at the south end. He checked the air conditioning control box, the circuit breakers, and light switches, and proceeded down the hallway, turning out the lights of the individual compartments. After reaching the north end of the car where there was no exit, appellant became aware that the car was being moved. He then ran to the south end, went upon the steps and leaned out to signal the switchman to stop the train. When appellant leaned out, his head was struck by a hand truck belonging to the Railway Express Agency, which was parked on the platform east of track 5 about six inches from the pullman car. It is admitted that the car was being moved by an L. & N. switching crew for the purpose of placing it on track 4.
It is apparent from a review of the evidence that appellant failed to establish negligence on the part of Railway Express Agency. The evidence does not disclose that this defendant either placed the hand truck or had any knowledge of its location at the place of a...
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...Louisville Gas & Elec. Co. v. Roberson, 212 S.W.3d 107, 112 (Ky.2006) (Wintersheimer, J., concurring) (citing Eaton v. Louisville & N.R. Co., 259 S.W.2d 29 (Ky.1953)); see also Pile v. City of Brandenburg, 215 S.W.3d 36, 42 (Ky.2006) (noting that an intervening cause may break the chain of ......
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