Reed v. Director General of Railroads, 78

• Citation: 258 U.S. 92,42 S.Ct. 191,66 L.Ed. 480
• Decision Date: 27 February 1922
• Docket Number: No. 78,78
• Parties: REED v. DIRECTOR GENERAL OF RAILROADS
• Court: United States Supreme Court

258 U.S. 92

42 S.Ct. 191

66 L.Ed. 480

REED

v DIRECTOR GENERAL OF RAILROADS.

No. 78.

Argued Jan. 13, 1922.

Decided Feb. 27, 1922.

Messrs. John J. McDevitt, Jr., of Philadelphia, Pa., and Frederick S. Tyler, of Washington, D. C., for petitioner.

Mr. Wm. Clarke Mason, of Philadelphia, Pa., for respondent.

Mr. Justice McREYNOLDS delivered the opinion of the Court.

The petitioner brought an action in the Court of Common Pleas at Philadelphia, alleged that her husband was negligently killed while employed in interstate commerce by the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, and demanded damages. She claimed under the federal Employers' Liability Act (Comp. St. §§ 8657-8665). Verdict and judgment having been entered for her, an appeal was taken to the Supreme Court of the state, and reversal sought upon several grounds. That court considered only one question—Did decedent's death result from a risk which he assumed as the result of his employment? And, concluding that he had assumed such risk, it reversed the judgment of the trial court, and entered one for respondent non obstante veredicto. 267 Pa. 86, 110 Atl. 254. As found and stated by the Supreme Court, the facts are these:

'Decedent was a member of a crew which had brought a train from Philadelphia to South Bethlehem. Some of the cars contained goods shipped in interstate commerce. When all the cars were released at their appropriate places, the engine went back to get the caboose for the purpose of taking it to the point where it was to stay until wanted for further traffic, and then itself go to the roundhouse where it was to remain until again needed. This movement was through defendant's yard, where there were a number of tracks upon which cars and locomotives were being shifted constantly. Through the yard ran also the main passenger tracks of defendant, and, at the points where other tracks crossed over or connected therewith, derailing devices had been wisely installed for the purpose of preventing locomotives and cars using the other tracks from running on to or over the passenger tracks, at a time when passenger trains were standing or traveling thereon, and thereby possibly causing collision and serious loss of life.

'The engine and caboose which had reached South Bethlehem were moving over a track which had one of those derailing devices where it connected with the passenger tracks. The caboose being in front of the locomotive the engineer could not see the device when operating the engine from his cab and hence decedent was directed to and did locate himself on the front of the caboose, with a duty to signal the engineer in time for him to safely stop if the derailing device was set against further passage. It was so set on this occasion, but either through the negligence of decedent himself, or of the engineer in failing to notice or heed the signaling of decedent, the locomotive...