Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railway Co. v. Welsh

47 N.E. 182, 17 Ind. App. 505, 1897 Ind. App. LEXIS 130
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 18, 1897
DocketNo. 1,918
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 47 N.E. 182 (Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railway Co. v. Welsh) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railway Co. v. Welsh, 47 N.E. 182, 17 Ind. App. 505, 1897 Ind. App. LEXIS 130 (Ind. Ct. App. 1897).

Opinion

Henley, J.

This was an action by Michael Welsh against the Baltimore and Ohio Southwestern Railway Company, the appellant, for injuring appellee, who was an employe of the said company. The complaint is in two paragraphs. The first paragraph alleges that .appellee was employed as a brakeman on a work, or construction train belonging to appellant, that there was a branch line of appellant’s road about ten miles in length leaving the main line near River-[506]*506dale in Lawrence county, and extending to the city of Bedford in said county, and that said work, or construction train was frequently run over and along said branch railway, in conveying stone and freight, and in transacting such other business as a work, or construction train usually did. That there was on said branch railway between the stations of Riverdale and Bedford a wooden trestle about 200 feet in length and from 20 to 75 feet in height; that said trestle was erected on a curve of about 8 degrees, and was a part of the track of said branch railway; that said trestle was improperly constructed and was unsafe for trains to pass over; that said trestle was negligently suffered to become out of repair- and to be in an unsafe condition for trains to pass over the same, and the appellant had full knowledge of such defects prior to the time at which appellee received his injuries, and that appellee did not know of such defects; that on the 4th day of October, 1893, said work, or construction train upon which appellee was a brakeman, while returning from Bedford to Riverdale, was, by reason of the careless and negligent manner in which said trestle was constructed and by reason of appellant negligently suffering said trestle to give down and thereby causing the track to be lower than the track to the approaches of said trestle, and by reason of the insufficient elevation of the outside rail of the track on said trestle, and by reason of the careless manner in which the train was at the time being run and operated, the said train left the track and appellee received the injury for Avhich damages are demanded, and which he alleges were received without any fault or negligence upon his part.

The second paragraph of complaint contains substantially the same averments as the first.

A demurrer to each paragraph of the complaint was [507]*507overruled and the ruling excepted to. An answer consisting of a general denial and one special paragraph was then filed. To the special paragraph a demurrer was filed and overruled. This special paragraph of answer is substantially as follows: That appellee at the time of the injury complained of and for a long time prior thereto was in appellant’s employ as a brakeman upon a work, or construction train; that the branch road upon which the injury occurred was at the time of such injury and accident in course of construction and was being surfaced and ballasted and was unfinished; that the construction train upon which appellee was a brakeman was being run over and along said road for the purpose of hauling ties, iron, stone and ballast' to complete said railroad, its track, trestles, bridges and fills, and especially the trestle, fills and approaches where the appellee received the injury complained of. That said construction train had been engaged in hauling material for the construction of said road for a long time prior to the accident complained of by appellee, during all of which time- appellee was upon said train as a brakeman; that said road was not open for business or traffic for either freight or passengers at the timé appellee received his injury, and no regular’ train had been run over said road prior to said time because the same was unfinished as appellee well knew. That appellee was a brakeman upon the construction train during all the time said road was being built, and knew the condition of the bridges, trestles, track, etc., etc., and knew that the road was unfinished and that at the time of the injury complained of the road was being surfaced up, and the track and approaches where the accident occurred were being completed and put in line. By reason of which facts appellant says appellee is estopped to prosecute this action. To [508]*508this answer appellee filed a general denial. Upon the issues thus formed a triál by jury was had, resulting in a general verdict for appellee in the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars. In addition to the -general verdict so returned, the jury found specially upon questions of fact by way of answers to interrogatories, submitted at the request of the parties to this action.

Appellant moved for judgment upon the special findings and answers to the interrogatories, notwithstanding the general verdict, which motion was overruled and appellant excepted.

Appellant moved for a new trial, which motion was overruled and judgment was rendered in favor of appellee for $2,500.00.

The first three specifications of the assignment of errors question the sufficiency of the complaint, the fourth the correctness of the ruling of the lower court upon the motion for judgment upon the special findings, notwithstanding the general verdict, and the fifth, the ruling upon appellant’s motion for a new trial. No cross errors are assigned.

We believe both paragraphs of the complaint state a cause of action, and in view of the conclusion we have arrived at as to the final disposition of this cause, it is unnecessary to further discuss it.

Appellant next complains of the action of the court in overruling its motion for judgment upon the special findings. The jury found specially in.answer to interrogatories returned with the general verdict the following facts: “That the accident in which appellee was injured occurred on that part of appellant’s road which was being constructed in the'summer of 1893; that the road was being surfaced up and the low places and sags were being taken out at the time the accident occurred; that appellee was a brakeman on the construction train of appellant and passed over the [509]*509place where the accident occurred on the day of the accident three times before the happening of the accident by which he was injured; that said construction train on said day was composed only of the engine, tender and caboose.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
47 N.E. 182, 17 Ind. App. 505, 1897 Ind. App. LEXIS 130, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/baltimore-ohio-southwestern-railway-co-v-welsh-indctapp-1897.