St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Company v. Bright

• Citation: 159 S.W. 33,109 Ark. 4
• Parties: ST. LOUIS, IRON MOUNTAIN & SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY v. BRIGHT
• Decision Date: 07 July 1913
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

159 S.W. 33

109 Ark. 4

ST. LOUIS, IRON MOUNTAIN & SOUTHERN RAILWAY COMPANY v. BRIGHT

Supreme Court of Arkansas

July 7, 1913

Appeal from Chicot Circuit Court; H. W. Wells, Judge; reversed.

STATEMENT BY THE COURT.

Plaintiff an elderly lady, lived at Luna, in Chicot County. She had a daughter living at Arkansas City, in Desha County. The daughter was very ill, being confined, and the plaintiff having been informed of this fact, purchased a ticket, on September 6, 1911, for Arkansas City, and took passage on defendant's road from that place. The train connected at Lake Village with a northbound passenger train, which, in turn, made connection at Trippe Junction with another of defendant's trains for Arkansas City. Plaintiff had never been over this line, and when the auditor came to take up her ticket, she informed him of this fact; told him she was on her way to see her daughter, and asked him to put her off at the proper station so she could make connection for Arkansas City. The auditor neglected to put her off at Trippe, where she could have made connection with the train for Arkansas City, and could have arrived there at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. The auditor, instead of putting her off at Trippe Junction, put her off at Halley, four miles from Trippe Junction. No train would pass Halley going to Arkansas City until 11 o'clock the following day. Plaintiff tried to hire a horse, but could not secure one. It was about 1 o'clock when the train left her at Halley. She had received news that her daughter was about to die, and being unable to get any one to take her, she walked to Trippe Junction. She stated that she took the walk to get to her daughter; that she could not get any way to ride. She had nowhere to go unless she stayed there and sat up in a colored boarding house. She didn't want to do that, and thought that her daughter would be dead any way. She was informed by the agent at Halley that she could catch a train going to Arkansas City at Trippe about 8 o'clock that night. She made every effort to get some means of conveyance to take her there, and, having failed, decided to walk. She walked to Trippe and carried her basket. It was a hot day. When she got there, she fell on the floor. Her limbs were cramped, and she thought she was going to die. She went to a lady's house and stayed until the train came. She was carried to the train. It was about 9 o'clock when she reached her destination. She was not able to get off the train; a gentleman helped her off and helped her part of the way. She was suffering as much as any one could on their feet. For nine weeks she was not able to get out of bed.

The plaintiff was not very well before she started on her journey to Arkansas City. She had been in delicate health for six months before she went to see her daughter. Was in a "generally debilitated condition."

It was shown that during the illness that resulted to plaintiff from this journey, she suffered from cramps, sick stomach headache and high fever, and that this condition continued for something near three months.

The appellee sued the appellant for damages. The appellant denied the allegations of the complaint, and the above are substantially the facts developed at the trial.

The court gave, at the request of appellee, the following prayers:

"2. If you find from the evidence that plaintiff purchased a ticket and took passage upon defendant's train to go to see her daughter, whom she had reason to believe was dangerously ill, and by the carelessness and negligent conduct of defendant's employees, and without fault on her part, she was put off at the wrong station and if you further find from the evidence that she would have had to remain at said station for a period of nearly twenty-four hours to get another train to take her to her destination from that point; and if you further find that she was advised by the station agent at Halley that she could catch an earlier train at Trippe station, she had a right to elect to walk to said station, if she could not get other means of conveyance, without assuming the risk incident to taking such walk, and if you further find from the evidence that the circumstances justified her in electing to walk, and that, as a result of walking to Trippe Junction under these circumstances, she suffered in bodily health and sustained injury, the defendant company is liable in damages for such injury and pain and suffering ensuing therefrom, if you find that she was so injured."

"3. If you find for the plaintiff in this case you will assess her damages at such sum of money as in your judgment will fairly compensate her for all the damages she sustained of which the negligence of defendant was the proximate cause, and in arriving at such sum you may consider loss of time and extra expense on account of sickness and pain and suffering which she underwent, if you find that such pain and suffering was the proximate result of defendant's negligence."

The court refused prayers of the appellant to the effect that plaintiff would not be permitted to recover damages augmented by her own action in unnecessarily and negligently exposing herself to hardship and suffering, and if she was not compelled to undertake to walk from Halley to Trippe, or that the auditor could not reasonably expect her to do so under the circumstances, and that she voluntarily undertook the walk, that she could not be permitted to recover because of her own contributory negligence, notwithstanding any negligence of the railway company.

The court granted a prayer of appellant to the effect that the burden was on the plaintiff to show that she was induced to debark from the train at the wrong station by reason of the conduct of appellant's auditor, and also that the burden was on plaintiff "to show by a preponderance of the evidence that she suffered injury as the direct and proximate result of the negligent conduct of...