James v. Missouri Pac. Ry. Co.
| Decision Date | 22 December 1891 |
| Citation | 18 S.W. 31,107 Mo. 480 |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
| Parties | JAMES v. MISSOURI PAC. RY. CO. |
1. In an action against a railroad company for a personal injury received by plaintiff from a blow on the knee by a mail-pouch thrown from defendant's passing train, plaintiff's theory was that the injury was caused by his heel being driven by the blow into a large hole in defendant's station platform, and there held so that his knee received the whole momentum of the pouch. Held, that an instruction which assumed that defendant was negligent in permitting the hole to remain in the platform was error; the question was for the jury.
2. In such case an instruction that plaintiff's knowledge of the existence of "holes in the platform" would not preclude him from recovery in this action, "unless his foot was knocked into the hole by reason of some carelessness, fault, or negligence of his own," was unintelligible, and should not have been given.
Appeal from circuit court, Vernon county; D. P. STRATTON, Judge.
Action by J. E. James against the Missouri Pacific Railway Company. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed.
R. T. Railey, for appellant. Burton & Wight, for respondent.
Plaintiff recovered judgment against defendant in the circuit court of Vernon county for $8,000 for personal injuries, and defendant appeals. The facts, as disclosed by the record in this case, are, in substance, as follows: In June, 1886, the defendant company was operating and controlling the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway, which runs through Appleton City, St. Clair county, Mo. The railroad runs north and south through that city, and the station platform there was constructed of what is known as "rafting lumber," which had auger-holes in it from an inch and a half to two inches in diameter. This lumber was old, and had been patched frequently, and the platform generally was much out of repair. It was about 3 feet high and 10 feet wide. Plaintiff kept an hotel near by, and, as a rule, went to the station on the arrival of each train to see guests off and to solicit custom for his hotel. On the night of June 29, 1886, the south-bound passenger train, which was due, according to schedule time, at Appleton City at 9 P. M., was two hours late. Plaintiff had three or four guests at his hotel, and he went to the station on the arrival of the train with a lantern to show them the way. He also took some letters to put on the mail-coach. The plaintiff reached the platform at the south end, and one T. P. Morgan was there by his side, his guests being in advance of him, but how far does not appear. Plaintiff and Morgan walked north on the platform till they got opposite the station-house. The train came from the north at the rate of 12 or 15 miles per hour, in violation of an ordinance of Appleton City, fixing the maximum rate of speed through the city at 5 miles per hour. Plaintiff and Morgan walked side by side. Morgan being next to the railroad, and plaintiff being about four feet from the track. Plaintiff was looking for the mail-coach to mail his letters, and, not seeing the mail-coach, he concluded it had passed him, and he remarked to Morgan that "it didn't make any difference, as the letters could be mailed in the morning." He continued to walk north, and the mail agent threw out of the car a leather mail-pouch, which struck plaintiff on the knee, and dished his knee-joint so that he was injured. There was an auger-hole near where plaintiff was struck, which had been worn by running trucks and rolling trunks over it until it was considerably larger than it was at first; so large that the heel of a man's shoe would go in it. It was a clear, starlight night, but no moon. The platform had no light except a signal light and the lamps in the station-house. Plaintiff had a lantern on his arm, and at least two other parties had lanterns also on the platform. Plaintiff was perfectly familiar with the platform and its surroundings, having kept an hotel near by for over 10 years, and having been for that length of time in the habit, as a rule, of going to the station many times a day. He also knew that the mail agents habitually pitched the mail-pouches from the cars to the platform. Plaintiff's theory is that his heel was driven by the mail-pouch into the hole in the platform at the point where he was struck, and that his foot was thus held, so that the whole force of the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State ex rel. v. Day et al.
...Co. v. Ritchie, 143 Mo. 587; Kuhlman v. Water, Light & Transit Co., 307 Mo. 607; State ex rel. v. Ellison, 270 Mo. 645; James v. Mo. Pac. Ry. Co., 107 Mo. 480; Hickman v. Link, 116 Mo. 123; Stewart v. Dickson, 290 Mo. 516; Goodwin v. Eugas, 290 Mo. 673; Soomer v. Continental Portland Cement......
-
Steffen v. S.W. Bell Tel. Co.
...389, 122 S.W. 1068; Stid v. Mo. Pac. Ry. Co., 236 Mo. 382, 139 S.W. 172; Hickman v. Link, 116 Mo. 123, 22 S.W. 472; James v. Mo. Pac. Railroad Co., 107 Mo. 480, 18 S.W. 31; Guenther v. St. Louis, I.M. & S. Ry. Co., 95 Mo. 286, 8 S.W. 371; Maxwell v. Hannibal & St. J. Railroad Co., 85 Mo. 95......
-
Steffen v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Co.
... ... Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, a Corporation Supreme Court of Missouri December 14, 1932 ... Appeal ... from Circuit Court of City of St. Louis; ... and every one of such instances. Partello v. Mo. Pac. Ry ... Co., 217 Mo. 645, 117 S.W. 1140; Lindsay v. Kansas ... City, 195 Mo. 166, 93 S.W ... Ry. Co., 236 Mo. 382, 139 ... S.W. 172; Hickman v. Link, 116 Mo. 123, 22 S.W. 472; ... James v. Mo. Pac. Railroad Co., 107 Mo. 480, 18 S.W ... 31; Guenther v. St. Louis, I. M. & S. Ry ... ...
-
State ex rel. State Highway Com'n v. Day
...Co. v. Ritchie, 143 Mo. 587; Kuhlman v. Water, Light & Transit Co., 307 Mo. 607; State ex rel. v. Ellison, 270 Mo. 645; James v. Mo. P. Ry. Co., 107 Mo. 480; Hickman Link, 116 Mo. 123; Stewart v. Dickson, 290 Mo. 516; Goodwin v. Eugas, 290 Mo. 673; Soomer v. Continental Portland Cement Co.,......