McCarty, Receiver, Pine Bluff, Sheridan & Southern Railway Co. v. Nelson

• Decision Date: 28 May 1917
• Docket Number: 9
• Citation: 195 S.W. 689,129 Ark. 280
• Parties: MCCARTY, RECEIVER, PINE BLUFF, SHERIDAN & SOUTHERN RAILWAY CO., v. NELSON, ADMINISTRATOR
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

195 S.W. 689

MCCARTY, RECEIVER, PINE BLUFF, SHERIDAN & SOUTHERN RAILWAY CO., v. NELSON, ADMINISTRATOR

129 Ark. 280

No. 9

Supreme Court of Arkansas

May 28, 1917

Appeal from Grant Circuit Court; W. H. Evans, Judge; affirmed.

Judgment affirmed.

Mehaffy Reid & Mehaffy, for appellant.

1. The appellant was guilty of no negligence, but the deceased was guilty of contributory negligence. This case is almost on all fours with 45 Ark. 318.

2. The wreck was caused by operating the train at an excessive rate of speed, contrary to instructions, and the court erred in its instructions on comparative negligence and in modifying appellant's requests, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 13 and in refusing Nos. 1, 5, 11, 14 and 15.

The question of assumed risk was one for the jury. It is unnecessary to cite authorities, as the law is well settled. 45 Ark. 318.

C. E Johnson and Langley & Steel, for appellee.

1. The suit was brought under Act 88, Acts 1911, page 55. Plaintiff alleged that defendant was a railway corporation * * * and operates a railroad through a portion of Dallas and Grant counties for hire, and hence was a common carrier under said act. All allegations not specifically denied are admitted by the answer. Kirby's Digest, § 6137; 91 Ark. 30; 37 Id. 542-4.

2. There was no error in the instructions prejudicial to appellant; but, if so, no specific objections were made. 93 Ark. 209; 96 Id. 531; 66 Id. 46. The general instructions were really too favorable to appellant. 84 Ark. 74.

3. Appellant was guilty of negligence, the angle bars were broken, the timbers in decayed condition and the roadbed was defective. Under the act contributory negligence is no defense, and the train was not operated at excessive speed. 122 Ark. 224. There was no error in modifying the instructions asked by appellant as all of them except No. 10 were in conflict with Act No. 88 and contrary to the law as announced in 116 Ark. 461; 118 Id. 377; 119 Id. 477; 124 Id. 298.

OPINION

HART, J.

This is an appeal from a judgment recovered by appellee against appellant for the alleged negligent killing of Roy Reese while in the employment of the Pine Bluff, Sheridan & Southern Railway Company. The material facts are as follows:

In April, 1916, Roy Reese was a conductor in the employment of the receiver of the Pine Bluff, Sheridan & Southern Railway Company. His train was wrecked and he was killed by being pinned down under a gravel car which jumped the track and turned over. The train was a work train and consisted of an engine and five cars. The three front cars were loaded with gravel and the two cars in the rear with lumber. Reese was riding on a gravel car in the middle of the train. The train was going north, and just as it got on the south end of a trestle the train left the rails and the three gravel cars were drawn along the ties until they were turned over. Reese fell under the car on which he was riding and was crushed to death.

It was shown in the proof that four angle bars were found broken at the time of the accident and that three of them showed to be old breaks. The iron was rusty, indicating that the angle bars had been broken for some time. One of the cap sills in the bridge at the scene of the accident was also shown to be rotten. One witness testified that he found several stringers rotten and several rotten ties at the place where the cars went off the track and said that he examined them on the day of the wreck. The angle bars are put on the rails to hold them in line and to make even joints. It is unsafe to run trains over joints where the angle bars are broken. If the angle bars are broken the rails are liable to spread and the train to go off on the ties at that point. The train left the rails a few feet beyond where the broken angle bars were found. The rotten cap sill was also just beyond the broken angle bars. The cap sill in question was rotten on the side from the middle down and one of the witnesses testified that this could have been detected from the outside. The train was going at its usual rate of speed when it left the rails and the accident occurred.

On the part of appellant it was shown that the train was going at a faster rate of speed than usual when the accident occurred and the fireman stated that the engineer requested Reese to allow him to double over a hill near the scene of the accident in order that he might not have to run so fast. The engineer denied this, however, and said that he had not requested Reese to double over the hill. He stated that the train was running at the rate of twelve or thirteen miles an hour when the accident occurred.

Other evidence on the part of appellant tended to show that the cap sill was only rotten on the inside and that it appeared to be sound on the outside, that inspections had been made of the track at proper intervals and that no broken angle bars had been found.

Reese was riding in the middle of the train on a gravel car at the time he was killed. Evidence was adduced by appellant to show that he had been directed to ride on the rear car of his train always. It is not claimed that the verdict is excessive, and for that reason we need not abstract all the evidence tending to show contributory negligence on the part of Reese and non-negligence on the part of the railroad company. In testing the legal sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict, we must consider it in the light most favorable to appellee. The testimony on the part of appellee tended to show that three broken angle bars had rusty ends, which indicate that they had been broken for some time. One witness even testified that he had noticed the broken angle bars while working on the section some time before the accident occurred, although he had not reported that fact to his foreman. The testimony also showed that these broken angle bars were the cause of the derailment of the cars. It was further shown that one of the cap sills of the trestle just beyond the broken angle bars was rotten on the inside and that this caused it to break when the cars were dragged over it. This evidence in connection with the other evidence recited above, was amply sufficient to warrant the verdict.

Counsel for appellant also contend that the court erred in giving certain instructions for appellee and in...