Standard Life & Acc. Ins. Co. v. Langston

• Decision Date: 06 April 1895
• Citation: 30 S.W. 427
• Parties: STANDARD LIFE & ACC. INS. CO. v. LANGSTON.
• Court: Arkansas Supreme Court

30 S.W. 427

STANDARD LIFE & ACC. INS. CO. v. LANGSTON.

Supreme Court of Arkansas.

April 6, 1895.

Appeal from circuit court, Jefferson county; John M. Elliott, Judge.

Action by John W. Langston against the Standard Life & Accident Insurance Company. From a judgment for plaintiff, defendant appeals. Reversed.

Austin & Taylor, for appellant. H. King White and W. T. Wooldridge, for appellee.

BATTLE, J.

On the 18th of April, 1890, the Standard Life & Accident Insurance Company, for a valuable consideration, executed to John W. Langston a policy, and thereby insured him against "the effect of injury to the body caused by external, violent, and accidental means." On the 24th of June, following, at about 12 o'clock in the night, Langston lay, apparently asleep, in the railroad yards at Alvarado, Tex., with his arm across one of the rails of the railway track. While he was in this position, a train ran over and crushed his arm to such an extent as to make amputation necessary, and by reason thereof he lost his arm.

Afterwards Langston brought this action against the insurance company on the policy to recover the sum the defendant had thereby agreed to pay him as an indemnity for such injuries as he had received. The defendant answered, and alleged, among other things, that the injury to him was caused by his own negligence.

The defense was based on the contract of insurance, one of the conditions of which is in these words: "It is an express condition of this policy that the insured shall at all times use due care and diligence for his personal safety and protection." The circumstances upon which the company relied to sustain its defense, as shown by the evidence, were about these: When the plaintiff was about to leave Alvarado, where he was at the time of the accident, an engineer invited him to take passage with him in the cab of a locomotive, and proposed to take him to Taylor, where he (the plaintiff) was going. He accepted the invitation, got in the cab, and moved on it into the railroad yard. Here the engineer left him, to be gone a few minutes. There were many side tracks at this place, which was about 100 yards north of the depot. Three or four trains, at this time, were leaving every hour. Being warm, he left the locomotive, and went over three side tracks, and sat down on the end of a tie, which was over 30 inches longer than the ordinary cross-tie; was conscious when he sat down; had been up late in the night before; supposed he fell asleep. The next thing he knew his arm was injured. A train of 27 cars had passed over it in two places, thus indicating that his arm was akimbo across the rail, his hand not being mangled. He endeavored to get up, jerked his arm, thinking his coat was fastened, and "heard something tear," felt a stinging sensation, and discovered that he had lost his arm.

But the jury returned a verdict against the insurance company, in favor of the plaintiff; the court rendered judgment accordingly; and the defendant appealed.

Among the exceptions to the proceedings at the trial, which are relied on for reversal, is the giving of two instructions to the jury over the objections of the appellant. The court instructed the jury that "an accident is the happening of an event without the aid and design of the person injured, and which is unforeseen"; and that "the negligence or carelessness of the insured is no defense to an action on a policy of insurance against accidents." This is not the law in this case.

The appellant was only liable by its contract to pay appellee an indemnity on account of personal injuries received. To the extent and upon the terms it contracted to insure, it is liable, and no further. It insured the appellee against "the effect of injury to the body caused by external, violent, and accidental means," — by "accidental means"; that is to say, the means which produces the injury must be something unforeseen, unexpected, and unusual at the time it occurred....