Townsend v. Nashville, C. & St. L. Ry.

• Citation: 61 S.W. 56,106 Tenn. 162
• Parties: TOWNSEND v. NASHVILLE, C. & ST. L. RY.
• Decision Date: 15 December 1900
• Court: Supreme Court of Tennessee

61 S.W. 56

106 Tenn. 162

TOWNSEND v. NASHVILLE, C. & ST. L. RY.

Supreme Court of Tennessee.

December 15, 1900

Appeal from circuit court, White county; W. T. Smith, Judge.

Action for injuries by W. M. Townsend against the Nashville Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. From an order sustaining a demurrer to the declaration, plaintiff appeals. Affirmed.

Snodgrass & Fancher and Story & Kirby, for appellant.

Jarvis Hill & Jarvis (Claude Waller and J. B. De Bew, of counsel) for appellee.

WILKES J.

This is an action against a common carrier for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff while attempting to alight from a train. There was a demurrer to the declaration, which was sustained, and the suit was dismissed, and plaintiff has appealed to this court, and assigned as error the sustaining of the demurrer.

So much of the declaration as is material is that the train was coming into the depot sheds at Nashville. Plaintiff was standing upon the platform, having been unable to secure or hold a seat for some distance before reaching Nashville, as the coach was crowded. The railroad employés in charge of the train blew the whistle, rang the bell, and announced the station as they approached the depot. The train slowed up for passengers to alight, and when it came to the usual place of stopping it had come to a stop, or so near to a stop that plaintiff thought it had stopped, and it appeared to have stopped, and, by the conduct of defendant's conductor and employés in charge of the train, plaintiff was impliedly invited to alight from the train. At the moment the plaintiff stepped off the step on which he had been forced to stand and was in the act of alighting from the train, the engineer negligently and wrongfully caused the cars to lurch forward by a violent jerk, which threw him off his feet on the floor of the shed, breaking both bones of his wrist or forearm. We are of opinion this declaration fails to state a cause of action. The blowing of the whistle, ringing of the bell, and calling out the name of the station is not an implied or express invitation to alight at once, but is merely a warning to be ready to alight when the car comes to a stop. The principle governing the case is stated in Railroad Co. v Massengill, 15 Lea, 328. A passenger who steps from a moving train does so at his peril, and, to absolve him from all contributory negligence, he must wait until the train has in fact stopped. ...