Kendrick v. Cent. R.R. & Banking Co
| Decision Date | 01 August 1893 |
| Citation | 89 Ga. 782,15 S.E. 685 |
| Parties | Kendrick v. Central Railroad & Banking Co. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
Master and Servant — Action for Injuries— Nonsuit—Opinion Evidence.
1. The action being for the homicide of an employe of the company, and the evidence not showing affirmatively whether the employe was free from negligence or not, and no negligence on the part of the company adequate to have caused the homicide under the circumstances being shown, the most reasonable and probable cause of the disaster being an accident to the employe by which his life became suddenly ex-posed to a danger incident to his employment, there was no error in granting a nonsuit.
2. Whether the employe was an experienced or inexperienced person was immaterial, under the facts in evidence.
3. A question to a witness in this form, "If the engineer had paid any attention to the signals that were given, and stopped the train, would this man have been killed?" was objectionable, as calling for his opinion, when the facts on which his opinion was based were the proper objects of inquiry, the conclusion from such facts being a question for the jury, and not for the witness.
(Syllabus by the Court.)
Error from superior court, Muscogee county; J. H. Martin, Judge.
Action by Mollie Kendrick against the Central Railroad & Banking Company for causing the death of her husband. There was a judgment for defendant, and plaintiff brings error. Affirmed.
The official report is as follows:
A nonsuit was granted, to which ruling, and to the sustaining of objections to questions asked of witnesses for the plaintiff, exceptions are taken. Kendrick was a switchman of the defendant. He was 25 or 20 years old when he was killed, and had been in the defendant's employment not quite two months. He was ordered by Grimes, who was acting under orders as "head coupler" in the place of one Hammond, and whose orders he had to obey, to go between cars to uncouple them. The engineer and fireman also, for the time being, were subject to Grimes' orders as to shifting the cars. When Kendrick went in to make the first uncoupling the cars were just getting a start, and he made it all right. He then went down the side of the cars. Grimes told him to cut off five cars. He went in between them to obey this second order while they were being run backwards, and was killed by their running over him. Grimes, when he discovered Kendrick lying down between the cars, hallooed, blew his whistle, and waved the cross signal for the engine to stop. The signal was not obeyed, and Kendrick was run over...
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