Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad v. Hickey

99 S.W. 839, 81 Ark. 579, 1907 Ark. LEXIS 447
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedFebruary 4, 1907
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 99 S.W. 839 (Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad v. Hickey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Choctaw, Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad v. Hickey, 99 S.W. 839, 81 Ark. 579, 1907 Ark. LEXIS 447 (Ark. 1907).

Opinion

Battre, J.

On the 23rd day of May, 1902, R. PI. Hickey, in his lifetime, commenced an action against the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad Company, in the Garland Circuit Court. Plaintiff stated his cause of action as follows:

“On the 9th day of January, 1902, plaintiff was on one of defendant’s trains on a through ticket from Memphis, in the State of Tennessee, to the city of Hot Springs, in Arkansas, and while such a passenger the train upon which he was traveling stopped at Little Rock, Arkansas, for the purpose of allowing the passengers on the train to procure dinner.

“That plaintiff left said train for the purpose of procuring dinner, and upon his return to said train, and while in the act of boarding the same, while upon the first step leading into the coach on said train, the agents, employees and servants of defendants in charge of and operating said train, wrongfully, negligently, unlawfully and carelessly caused said train to move by a sudden jerk, which caused paintiff to fall from said step violent^ to the ground and underneath said train; that plaintiff at the time was in the exercise of due care, and he was thrown or caused to fall from said step, before he was able to get upon said car in the manner and form as aforesaid, by the wrongful, careless, and negligent acts of the agents and employees of defendant in starting said train; that by said fall the plaintiff sustained severe personal injuries to his back and other portions of his body; that in falling he in some way rolled under the edge of the train as it was moving along, in such position that he could not get out from under said car while the same was in • motion; that some bystander halloed at him to lie down close to the ground if he wished to save his life, which injunction he obeyed, and the entire train passed over him in that position; that plaintiff’s position was such that, if he had moved in an effort to get out, some portion of the car would have caught his clothing, which would have evidently dragged him to death; that plaintiff realized this fact and remained in that position under the edge of the cars until the entire train passed over him; that plaintiff, during the time that said train was thus passing over him, expected every minute to be caught b)'’ some portion of the car and to be killed, and during such time he suffered untold mental agony and pain; that, by reason of the wrongful, careless and negligent acts of the defendant as aforesaid, plaintiff has been damaged in the sum of ten thousand dollars.”

The defendant answered and denied the allegations of the complaint. On the 20th day of November, 1903, the issues in the case were tried in the Garland Circuit Court, and a verdict was rendered in favor of the plaintiff, which was set aside on a motion for a new trial. Subsequently the plaintiff died, and the action was revived in the name of D. H. Hickey, as administrator of L. H. Hickey, deceased, and he filed an amendment to the complaint as follows:

“That the said L- H. Hickey died in the city of Lexington, and county of Fayette, in the State of Kentucky, on the 7th day of December, 1903, and that this plaintiff, D. H. Hickey, was duly appointed administrator of the estate of the said L. H. Hickey by the county court of said Fayette County, in the State of Kentucky, on the 21st day of December, 1903, a day of the December term, 1903, of said county court, and that he is now the duly appointed, qualified and acting administrator of the estate of the said L. H. Hickey, deceased; that the said L. H. Hickey left surviving him at his death, Ada Hickey, as a widow, and-Hickey, his son and only heir; that the said--Hickey at the time of the death of the said L. H. Hickey, was five years old; that the death of the said L. H. Hickey resulted from-and was caused by the injuries received by him in falling from the train on the 9th day of January, 1902, in the mannqr as set out and stated in the complaint herein, and resulted by reason of the wrongful and negligent acts and conduct of the defendant and its employees, as stated in said complaint; that the death of the said L. FI. Hickey was produced and brought about by the negligent acts and conduct of the defendant and its employees as set out in said complaint; that after receiving said injuries, the said L. H. Hickey continued to suffer excruciating pain, both of body and mind, as stated in said complaint, and the amendment thereto filed on November 19, 1903, until the 7th day of December, 1903, when he died.

“That in the month of May, 1902, soon after said injuries were received by the said L. H. Hickey, he became paralyzed therefrom and totally blind, as stated in his said amended complaint filed November 19, 1903, and remained in that helpless condition, suffering and languishing, until the time of his death; that during the lifetime of the said L. H. Hickey, and prior to the receipt of said injuries, he was an activé, industrious man, a devoted father and husband; that he provided for his family a comfortable home and furnished them with all things necessary for their pleasure and happiness in life; that he was a man of good moral habits, and devoted all of his earnings to the benefit of his said wife and child; that by the death of said L,. H. Hickey the said widow and child have been damaged in the sum of ten thousand dollars.

“Wherefore plaintiff prays judgment against the defendant herein in the sum of ten thousand dollars as damages resulting to the estate of the. said L. H. Hickey, and the further sum of ten thousand dollars as damages for the benefit of the said widow and child.”

The defendant moved to strike the amendment from the files of the court, because it sets up a cause of action which cannot be joined with that in the original complaint. On the 19th day of June, 1905, this action was taken by change of venue, on motion of the defendant, to Saline County. On the 12th of September, 1905, the motion to strike amended complaint from the files was overruled by the Saline Circuit Court, and the defendant saved exceptions. An answer to the amendment to the complaint was thereupon filed by the defendant, specifically denying each allegation thereof.

Evidence was adduced by the plaintiff in the trial in the action, which tended to prove, substantially, the allegations in his complaint; and the defendant adduced evidence to prove the contrary.

The court instructed the jury, over the objections of the defendant, at the request of the plaintiff, in part as follows:

“6.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
99 S.W. 839, 81 Ark. 579, 1907 Ark. LEXIS 447, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/choctaw-oklahoma-gulf-railroad-v-hickey-ark-1907.