Dowling v. Gerard B. Allen & Co.

88 Mo. 293
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedOctober 15, 1885
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 88 Mo. 293 (Dowling v. Gerard B. Allen & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dowling v. Gerard B. Allen & Co., 88 Mo. 293 (Mo. 1885).

Opinion

Henry, C. J.

This cause was here, on appeal, at the October term, 1881, and the judgment of the court of appeals, reversing that of the circuit court, was affirmed. On a re-trial of the cause, plaintiff obtained a judgment for ten thousand dollars, from which this appeal is prosecuted. The case is reported in 74 Mo. 14, and we adopt the statement there made, as substantially .correct, except that on a re-trial of the cause, defendant introduced evidence contradictory of material testimony adduced by the plaintiff. Plaintiff testified that King directed him to “go and stop off the engine.” King testified that he had no recollection of giving plaintiff an order, or direction; that, “when the noon bell rang, [296]*296work dropped ; the noon bell itself would be an order for stopping the engine; plaintiff had started and stopped the engine before this, probably one hundred times ; the bell rang and he went to the engine, of course.” Robert Cook testified, that when the noon bell rang, he was talking to King.; knew of no order to the plaintiff to shut off steam. Had seen the plaintiff .shut off steam a number of times before.

The testimony on both sides was to the effect that there were other pass-ways than that taken by plaintiff to the place whére he had to go to slnit off Steam. Neither plaintiff nor any other witness testified that lie was directed by King to go the route that took him over the set screw.

Among other instructions the court, at plaintiff’s instance, gave the following :

“ The court instructs the jury that if they find from the evidence that the employe of the defendant, named King, had charge or management of that part of defendant’s work embracing the construction of the turn-table, and the machinery used in such construction, and that the plaintiff who was injured was directed by the foreman, Fisher, to go with said King and do whatever he directed, then said King was not the fellow servant of said plaintiff, and the defendant is responsible for his acts, and if the jury find from the evidence that, under the circumstances of this case, it was negligence or recklessness for said King to direct the plaintiff to perform the work in the manner he did, when he received the injury, the defendant will be responsible therefor.”

This clearly assumes that King not only directed the plaintiff to shut off the steam, but to do it in the manner in which he did it when he received the injury.- It does not tell the jury that if * * * they found .the fact to be, that King directed the plaintiff to shut off the steam, in the manner in which plaintiff did [297]*297it, and also find that, under the circumstances of this case, it was negligence or recklessness so to direct plaintiff, the. plaintiff was entitled to a verdict. And even in that form, unobjectionable, if there was evidence to support the. hypothetical facts, it would have been error, for there is not a scintilla of testimony proving, or tendr ing to prove, that King directed the plaintiff to take the route that led over the set screw.

The other instructions for plaintiff are objected to as submitting the question of negligence to the jury, generally, without any declaration of what fact constituted negligence ; and also that they assumed that plaintiff was not of an age to be aware of the danger from the set screw and collar. As to the latter contention, we do not think that there is any such assumption as alleged.

By the second instruction the jury are told that “ although they may find, from the evidence, that the set screw and collar attached to the shaft were visible, and the danger in passing over the same was apparent to a person of mature years, or one accustomed to the use of such machinery, yet if the jury further find that by reason of the youth and inexperience of plaintiff, he was not aware of the danger to himself from said set screw and collar, the fact that they were so visible or apparent will not defeat his right to recover in this case.”

The obvious meaning of the instruction is, that the jury were to find as a fact, first, the age of plaintiff ; and, second, that he was too young and inexperienced to be aware of the danger to which he was exposed. There is no assumption of either of these propositions. How old plaintiff was, and whether old enough to be aware of the danger to which he was exposed were submitted to the jury as questions of fact by the instruction. The first instruction declared that, “if the danger was not apparent to a party of the age and experience of plaintiff, and that he did not have sufficient, or reason[298]*298able notice of such danger, and without any negligence on his part, by reason of his youth, or inexperience, . * ' * * he failed to appreciate the danger,” etc. His age and intelligence were matters of enquiry —evidence was introduced in relation to both — and no jury of sensible men could have understood the court as declaring by that instruction that, by reason of defendant’s yo.uth and inexperience, he did not, or could not, appreciate the danger in passing over the shaft, but must have understood that these were questions submitted to them for their determination on the evidence.

The instructions for plaintiff -were sufficiently specific in regard to what constitutes negligence of the character complained of,.and which the testimony tended to prove. We think the fourth instruction objectionable. It declares that, “Although the jury may find, from the evidence, that the plaintiff was guilty of some negligence at the time of the injury, yet if they find that such negligence was slight or remote, and that the negligence of defendant was the direct cause of the injury to plaintiff, he will not be precluded from recovery by reason of such slight or remote negligence.” Patting out of view the question of plaintiff’s age and inexperience, and considering him as an adult, if guilty of any negligence contributing directly to produce the injury, -whether slight or not; he could' not recover. What, but for consequences which follow, might- be esteemed slight negligence, sometimes directly occasions serious injury to the negligent party. The age and inexperience of the party may be taken into consideration in passing upon the question of negligence alleged against him. For instance, no negligence is imputable to a child, although its own carelessness may produce its injury — and less care and foresight are exacted of an inexperienced youth than of a man of mature years. If, in this case, the plaintiff was too young and inexperi[299]*299enced to appreciate the danger to which he was exposed, then conduct on his part which would be negligence in one aware of the danger, might not be imputed as negligence in him. But if the jury should find that he was aware of the danger to which he was exposed, any negligence on his part which contributed directly to his injury will defeat his action. Murray v. Ry., 33 Alb. Law Journal, No. 5, p. 92 ; Shearman & Redf. on Neg., sec. 49 ; Ry. v. Gladman, 15 Wall. 401 ; Ry. v. Stout, 17 Wall. 657; Boland v. Ry., 36 Mo. 484; Cauley v. Ry., 98 Pa. St. 498. The doctrine of comparative negligence in these cases has no footing in this court, and the instruction in question has a strong leaning in that direction.

The correct rule is succinctly declared in Boland v. Ry., 36 Mo. 484.

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88 Mo. 293, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dowling-v-gerard-b-allen-co-mo-1885.