Larkin v. New York Cent. & H.R.r. Co.
| Decision Date | 21 May 1896 |
| Citation | 44 N.E. 122,166 Mass. 110 |
| Parties | LARKIN v. NEW YORK CENT. & H.R.R. CO. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court |
This was an action of tort for injuries received by the plaintiff by reason of the improper construction and improper condition of one of the defendant's cars whereby plaintiff suffered the loss of his hand. There was evidence tending to show that the plaintiff was a brakeman in the employ of the Boston & Albany Railroad; that, on the day of the accident, he was a brakeman upon a train of freight cars taking freight from Worcester to Boston; that a part of his duty was the management and control of a car upon which was an oil tank full of oil which was to be delivered in Boston; that this car was taken from the track in Worcester upon which all freight cars from Springfield were delivered in Worcester, and were there taken by the trains from Worcester to Boston for delivery in Boston; that this was a platform car, upon which was placed a large iron oil tank such as is used for the transfer of oil from the petroleum regions to the city of Boston; that said car was marked "N.Y.C. & H.R.RR.," which initials stood for "New York Central & Hudson River Railroad," which was the name of the defendant; that, when said train arrived in Allston, they proceeded to separate the trains, and to attach the cars of the different trains for the purpose of distributing them to their destination in Boston; that this car upon which was said oil tank was in the charge of the plaintiff, and it became his duty to ride said car down from the main train to which the engine was attached, to manage the brake upon this car, and to let it run down to be attached to two or three other cars that were standing some distance down the track, where a train was being made up to go to East Boston; that the plaintiff set the brake, and retarded the car, so as to bring it, to the best of his judgment, at a standstill at the point of its reaching the other cars, and proceeded, as was his duty and in the regular course of his business, to bring his end of the car so that when the car approached the stationary cars, he could adjust the link and pin, and thereby attach his car to said stationary cars; that, in order to do this when the car was in motion, it was necessary for him to get off the oil car onto the ground, so that he could go between the cars to make the hitch; that said car was slowly approaching the stationary cars; that the said tank was arranged upon the platform car as follows: There was placed at each end of the tank a guard and timber some 8, 10, or 12 inches thick, and about 8 or 10 inches high, and projecting far enough beyond the sides of the tank to enable one to take hold of it, which was placed against either end of the oil tank to keep it from moving. There were straps over the oil tank upon the platform car to keep the tank from rolling. The tank itself was merely laid upon the top of an ordinary platform car, the only devices for keeping it steady being the timbers at either end of the oil tank and the iron straps. There was a guard rail supported on posts along the side of the car, leaving a space between the tank and edge of the car the length of the tank. There was evidence tending to show that the only means of getting off this car was to climb down from the platform car, and put his foot in an iron stirrup which was on the side of the car close to the end, and from there step down to the ground; that, in order to get his foot into the stirrup, it was necessary for the plaintiff to step down, and then swing his foot around to the side of the car, and put it into the stirrup; that, in order to do this, it was necessary for him to take hold of something to steady himself; that the joist or piece of timber laid in front of the tank was the only thing convenient to take hold of, the upright on the rail being too far to take hold of easily; that in this instance the plaintiff took hold of the timber with his hand and, there being a space of an inch or more between the tank and the...
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