Weightman v. Louisville, N.O. & T. Ry. Co.

• Decision Date: 20 March 1893
• Citation: 12 So. 586,70 Miss. 563
• Parties: CHARLES WEIGHTMAN v. LOUISVILLE, NEW ORLEANS & TEXAS RAILWAY CO
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

12 So. 586

70 Miss. 563

CHARLES WEIGHTMAN v. LOUISVILLE, NEW ORLEANS & TEXAS RAILWAY CO

Supreme Court of Mississippi

March 20, 1893

FROM the circuit court of Warren county, HON. J. D. GILLAND Judge.

The declaration in this case alleges that on the eighteenth day of July, 1892, Noel Weightman, the sixteen-year-old son of appellant, while from home, was taken very seriously ill, and was put aboard defendant's train at Arkansas City as a passenger, destined for Vicksburg, Mississippi, the home of himself and parents; that the ticket-agent of defendant was apprised of his condition before the purchase of his ticket and that the conductor of the train was so apprised, and was informed that he was away from home, with no one to accompany him; that both the ticket-agent and conductor were informed that he would not only need attention along the road, but would also probably have to be carried from the train when he arrived at Vicksburg; that they were fully informed of all the circumstances, and of the reason why appellant's son would go home by railroad, and not by boat, it being deemed important that he should go speedily; that, with a knowledge of all the facts, he was received as a passenger on the train, with the promise of the conductor to give him the necessary attention along the journey, and to have him carefully assisted from the train at Vicksburg; that when the train reached Vicksburg, young Weightman was unconscious, and hence unable to help himself, and in that state was suffered to remain on the train until it had reached a point about thirty miles south of Vicksburg, where he was put off, about two o'clock at night, at a little station where there were no accommodations; that he was there permitted to remain, without care or attention, for about forty hours when he was taken back to Vicksburg by the employes of defendant; that, soon after reaching home, he died as a result of the exposure and neglect.

From a judgment sustaining a demurrer to the declaration and dismissing the case, plaintiff appeals.

Judgment reversed, demurrer overruled and case remanded.

George Anderson, for appellant.

We are free to admit that the case of Sevier v. Railroad Co., 61 Miss. 8, on the authority of which the demurrer was sustained, is a very strong one. But we recognize the rule announced in that case, and claim that it does not apply here. Plaintiff's son was accepted as a passenger with full knowledge of his illness, and with the promise on the part of defendant's employes to give him the proper attention. The company received the benefit of his fare, and cannot escape the obligation imposed upon it by the circumstances of the case. Where a railroad company voluntarily accepts a passenger, one whose physical disability is apparent, or is made known to the employes, rendering special assistance necessary, the company is negligent if such assistance is not furnished. 2 Am. & Eng. Enc. L., p. 767, § 37, and authorities cited. This is not inconsistent with the rule announced in the Sevier case. It is entirely in keeping with the intimation of the court in the last paragraph of the opinion.

The railroad company owes a duty even to a trespasser, if he is discovered in a dangerous place or condition, and must respect his circumstances and avoid doing him unnecessary injury. How much more is this true as to one who is a passenger, received under the circumstances averred in the declaration!

By reason of young Weightman's condition, he was unable to leave the train at Vicksburg, and, when the train left there, he should have been put off at a place where he could have received the attention he then needed. Instead of this, he was put off at a place where there were no accommodations, and where he received no care or attention. After about forty hours of exposure and neglect, the employes of defendant, fearing that he would die on their hands, sent him back to Vicksburg. Certainly the company cannot escape liability for such conduct.

Mayes & Harris, for appellee.

This case is completely covered by the decision in Sevier v. Railroad Co., 61 Miss. 8. The authorities relied on by opposite counsel have no bearing on the principle announced in that case. They merely have reference to the stoppage of trains at stations in order to give passengers sufficient time to alight.

OPINION

WOODS, J.

The case, on its facts presented by the declaration, is widely different from that of Sevier v. Railroad Co., 61 Miss. 8. In that case the plaintiff got on a train of the railroad company at Vicksburg, to be transported to Jackson. Before reaching Jackson, the plaintiff, who had gotten on the train while sick with a fever, notified the conductor of the train that he was sick and drowsy, and wished to sleep, but feared he might not awake at Jackson, his point of debarkation. The conductor thereupon told plaintiff that he might safely go to sleep, and that he should be awakened at Jackson. The plaintiff accordingly lay down and slept, and gave no thought to being awake when the train should reach Jackson, and neither roused himself nor was aroused by the conductor at Jackson, but was carried four miles east of that station while so asleep and sick, when the train was stopped, the plaintiff permitted to get off at night in the woods, and walk back to Jackson.

In the case at bar, the passenger was received into and upon the train by the ticket-agent's and conductor's consent and agreement, after having been informed of his serious illness and his inability to care for himself, and...