Renaldi v. New York, New Haven & Hartford R. Co.

• Decision Date: 06 March 1956
• Docket Number: Docket 23663.,No. 146,146
• Citation: 230 F.2d 841
• Parties: Florence RENALDI, as Administratrix of the Estate of Edward Renaldi, deceased, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. The NEW YORK, NEW HAVEN AND HARTFORD RAILROAD COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

230 F.2d 841 (1956)

Florence RENALDI, as Administratrix of the Estate of Edward Renaldi, deceased, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. The NEW YORK, NEW HAVEN AND HARTFORD RAILROAD COMPANY, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 146, Docket 23663.

United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit.

Argued December 13, 1955.

Decided March 6, 1956.

Edmund J. Moore, New York City (R. M. Peet, J. G. Pare, New York City, of counsel), for defendant-appellant.

O'Neill, Higgins & Latto, New York City (Thomas J. O'Neill, New York City, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellee.

Before CLARK, Chief Judge, and MEDINA and WATERMAN, Circuit Judges.

WATERMAN, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff's decedent, Edward Renaldi, while in the employ of the defendant railroad, sustained injuries which resulted in his death. This action was brought under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, 45 U.S.C.A. § 51 et seq., to recover on behalf of his surviving parents for the pain and suffering of decedent prior to his death, and for the pecuniary loss resulting from his death. The case was tried before a jury, which returned a verdict for the plaintiff of $10,000 for pain and suffering, and $35,000 for pecuniary loss. Defendant appeals from the denial of its motions to dismiss the complaint, to direct a verdict, to set aside the verdict and order a new trial, and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

Renaldi performed maintenance work on defendant's anchor bridges, which are overhead steel structures carrying the high voltage electrical current which furnishes the motive power for defendant's trains. When injured, Renaldi was painting the central portion of the bus supports or crosspieces of anchor bridge 193, which crosses the four tracks of defendant's Boston-New York line near Rye, New York. Other portions of the overhead structure had been painted on the two immediately prior work days, but Renaldi, who was then away on vacation, had not been present. On these earlier days eight more wires had been de-energized than on the day Renaldi sustained his fatal injuries.

Renaldi had arrived at anchor bridge 193 at about 8:30 A.M. with a gang of five other anchor bridge maintenance employees. It was a dark, cloudy morning, and the bridge was wet, or, at the very least, damp. After a number of the high voltage wires had been de-energized by means of phone calls to the load dispatcher, Renaldi began painting the first crosspiece. At this time he was standing on a ladder which had its base on the plank walk of the anchor bridge and rested against the crosspiece being painted. Renaldi had finished painting about three quarters of the central portion of this crosspiece when two flash explosions occurred. In some way Renaldi had come into contact with the live parts of two circuit breakers which were several feet beneath him and to his side. After coming into contact with the high voltage current, Renaldi fell about thirty feet to the ground. He suffered serious burns and multiple injuries from which he died three and one half days later.

The defendant contends that the trial judge should have directed a verdict for the defendant or granted its motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict because of a failure of the plaintiff to prove negligence on the part of the defendant which caused the injury, or, in the alternative, that a new trial should have been granted because of errors in the admission of evidence and in the charge to the jury, and because of awards of damages that were unsupported by evidence and excessive. These alleged errors will be considered seriatim.

1. Failure to Prove Negligence.

If there is evidence from which reasonable men could conclude that Renaldi's injuries were caused wholly or partially by negligence on the part of the defendant, the verdict must be sustained. The standard of liability is negligence, and "the question is what a reasonable and prudent person would have done under the circumstances." Stone v. New York, C. & St. L. R. Co., 1953, 344 U.S. 407, 409, 73 S.Ct. 358, 359, 97 L.Ed. 441; Wilkerson v. McCarthy, 1949, 336 U.S. 53, 61, 69 S.Ct. 413, 93 L.Ed. 497. In this case there was evidence from which the jury could conclude that the weather was wet and stormy. Hamelin, Renaldi's foreman, had decided that the work should continue, and that only a portion of the wires needed to be de-energized. Under such circumstances, the jury reasonably could have concluded that the defendant had been negligent in failing to provide Renaldi with a safe place to work. Equally fair-minded men might come to a different conclusion,¹ but "only when there is a complete absence of probative facts to support the conclusion reached does a reversible error appear." Lavender v. Kurn, 1946, 327 U.S. 645, 653, 66 S.Ct. 740, 744, 90 L.Ed. 916.

2. Alleged Errors in Admission of Evidence

The plaintiff was allowed, over continued objections of the defendant, to introduce a substantial amount of evidence concerning what was done at anchor bridge 193 on the two workdays immediately prior to that on which Renaldi was fatally injured. We think that the nature and extent of precautions taken on immediately prior workdays as to the same general work project had logical relevance and hence was admissible. Defendant argues that the area of work on the day of the accident was much more restricted and that under such circumstances the same precautions were not necessary. But this went to the weight of the evidence rather than its admissibility, and defendant was given complete opportunity to show that there was no need to shut down more wires on the day of the accident.

Defendant also objects to the admission in evidence of a safety rule of defendant forbidding work on anchor bridges during stormy weather. Such rules are admissible when their purpose is to protect the class of persons by whom suit is brought and when their violation can reasonably be said to contribute to the injury sued upon. Krasnow v. National Airlines, Inc., 2 Cir., 1955, 228 F.2d 326; Dundom v. New York Cent. R. Co., 2 Cir., 1944, 145 F.2d 711. These prerequisites were satisfied in this case. Defendant's further contention that no foundation had been laid for the admission of the safety rule is without merit, since Hefferman, the ambulance driver, had previously testified that the weather had been "stormy" and that it had been raining hard.

3. Alleged Errors in the Charge.

The defendant contends that the trial court should have given the jury a peremptory instruction that Renaldi had been contributorily negligent as a matter of law. However, under the circumstances, contributory negligence was a question for the jury.

Further, defendant requested charges to the effect that it...