Illinois Car & Equipment Co. v. Walch

• Decision Date: 14 January 1902
• Citation: 31 So. 470,132 Ala. 490
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court
• Parties: ILLINOIS CAR & EQUIPMENT CO. v. WALCH. [1]

31 So. 470

132 Ala. 490

ILLINOIS CAR & EQUIPMENT CO. v. WALCH. ^[1]

Supreme Court of Alabama

January 14, 1902

Appeal from circuit court, Calhoun county; A. P. Agee, Special Judge.

Action by Ellen Walch, administratrix, against the Illinois Car &amp Equipment Company. From a judgment in favor of the plaintiff the defendant appeals. Reversed.

Willett & Brothers, for appellant.

Wm. P Acker, for appellee.

McCLELLAN C.J.

This is an action by the administratrix of an employé against the employer for negligence on the part of the defendant, or for which it is responsible, whereby the intestate came to his death. The intestate, Walch, was a member and foreman of a squad of defendant's employés, whose duty in part was to load iron rails upon flat cars in defendant's yard. They were engaged in so loading such a car when Walch was killed. He and another of the force were on the car, receiving rails passed up to them by the others, and placing them on the platform or floor of the car, when the platform turned over by the side, clear of the trucks, and threw him to the ground, or upon rails lying on the ground, by the side of the car, and killed him.

The theory of the complaint is that this keeling over and fall of the platform was caused by defects in the condition of the car. It is common knowledge that the platform of such a car extends over and beyond the wheels, and considerably beyond its side supports. Of course, when sufficient weight is put on the platform outside of its supports on one side to overbalance its weight on the other side of such supports the result necessarily is to turn it, and cause it to fall from the trucks, unless the force of the overbalancing weight is resisted and overcome by fastenings of the platform to the trucks. The sixth count of the complaint--the trial was had on counts 6, 7, and 8--alleges that, while Walch was on top of the platform of the car loading or assisting in loading rails thereon, "the top or platform of said car was by the weight of said rails overturned, and left the remaining portion of the car, and turned bottom side up upon the ground, or upon some iron rails there upon the ground, beside the railroad track, and plaintiff's intestate was thrown with such force to the ground, or to and upon the iron rails there upon the ground, that he received injuries from which he then and there died"; and it proceeds further to aver that "the said injuries and death of plaintiff's intestate, Patrick Walch, was caused by reason of a defect or defects in said car in this: (1) The said car was worn and weak, insufficient and dangerous for moving or bearing heavy loads such as iron rails. (2) The top or platform of said car was not bolted or fastened down sufficiently or securely to the other portions of said car. (3) Some of the timbers of said car were worn, cracked, partially decayed, or too weak to resist the strain upon them when being loaded. (4) Some of the iron bolts, pins, or fastenings used to hold the top or platform of said car down were old, rusty, and weak. (5) The top or platform of said car had been raised, by means of blocks of wood, so that it was higher than as ordinarily constructed." These averments are awkward and somewhat inapt to the conclusion in view, but they are, we think, sufficient to show that Walch's death resulted from the defective and insecure attachment of the platform to the car, through its consequent overturning; and w...