Hodgkins v. Eastern R. Co.

• Decision Date: 28 January 1876
• Citation: 119 Mass. 419
• Parties: Charles Hodgkins, administrator, v. Eastern Railroad Company
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

119 Mass. 419

Charles Hodgkins, administrator, v. Eastern Railroad Company

Supreme Court of Massachusetts

January 28, 1876

Argued November 4, 1875

Essex. Tort to recover for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff's intestate while employed as a brakeman by the defendant corporation. At the trial in this court, Ames, J withdrew the case from the jury, and reported it for the consideration of the full court, in substance as follows:

At the opening of the case to the jury, the counsel for the plaintiff stated that on the day of the accident a train of passenger cars, including a smoking and baggage car, was made up at the passenger station of the defendant in Boston, by its ordinary servants, under the general direction of its station agent in Boston, who has charge of the making up of trains, to be run over the railroad to Rockport, and the plaintiff's intestate was placed upon this train to act as brakeman; that the train was made up of cars having platforms of unequal height; that a train so made up was unsafe and dangerous, especially for brakemen, and was well known to be so by the officers and managers of the defendant that a due regard for the safety of its servants, and especially of brakemen, required of the defendant that it should run no cars in the same train having platforms of unequal height, and that it was negligence on its part to run such trains or allow them to be made up.

It was admitted that the cars composing the train in question were properly made, complete and suitable in themselves both with reference to their platforms and in other respects, and that the plaintiff's intestate was assigned to serve as brakeman upon this train by the station agent in Boston.

The counsel for the plaintiff farther stated, that, upon the arrival of the train at Rockport, it was left in charge of the train men (not including the conductor) for the purpose of making up the train in reverse order of cars, as was necessary preparatory to returning to Boston the next morning. For this purpose two of the passenger cars were set off upon a siding, and the remainder of the train, consisting of baggage and smoking cars, was withdrawn to be sent forward again upon the main track, passing by the cars upon the siding. After the former-cars had acquired considerable headway in moving forward upon the main track, it was discovered by the switchman at the siding that the cars first set off had not been pushed sufficiently far upon the siding to clear the main track, and that a corner of one of them projected so far over the main track, and that a corner of one of them projected so far over the main track as to prevent the remainder of the train passing them...