Eidem v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co.

158 Ill. App. 82, 1910 Ill. App. LEXIS 86
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedOctober 18, 1910
DocketGen. No. 5374
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 158 Ill. App. 82 (Eidem v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Eidem v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co., 158 Ill. App. 82, 1910 Ill. App. LEXIS 86 (Ill. Ct. App. 1910).

Opinion

Mr. Justice Thompson

delivered the opinion of the court. .

The only contentions presented by appellant on this appeal are (1) that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, (2) that there is no evidence that appellee was at the time of the accident in the exercise of due care, and (3) that the judgment is excessive. It is not claimed that there is any error of law on the last trial, except that it is insisted that a peremptory instruction to find for appellant should have been given.

It is contended on behalf of appellee that he, an employe, receiving as a part of his compensation transportation between his residence at Moline and his place of employment at Silvis, was a passenger and entitled to the same rights and high degree of care from appellant that are due to ordinary passengers. The rule is settled that, as between an employer and employe when the employe receives transportation as a part of his contract of employment, the law requires no more than ordinary or reasonable care on the part of the employer. Walsh v. Cullen, 235 Ill. 91; Chicago Terminal Transfer Co. v. O’Donnell, 213 Ill. 545. If the appellant was exercising ordinary care for the safety of appellee at the time he was injured, then the judgment cannot be sustained.

It is contended by appellant that as between it and its employes, it had the right to operate the road engine by which appellee was injured at any speed that it saw fit, and that the statute and municipal ordinances regulating the running of trains within the limits of the city of Moline are only for the protection of third parties. This court held otherwise in Cook v. C. R. I. & P. Ry. Co., 153 Ill. App. 596, and the Supreme Court refused to grant a certiorari in that case at the June term, 1910. Under the rule of law adopted in that case if the evidence shows that appellant ran its engine at a rate of speed prohibited by the city ordinance of the city of Moline, then a prima facie case of negligence on-the part of appellant was proved.

In the former opinion in this case in the review of the evidence it was said:

“The evidence shows that appellant operated a double track railroad running east and west through the city of Moline, the east bound track being next its depot. The space used for depot purposes consisted of a triangular strip of land extending from the east line of Thirteenth street to the west line of Fourteenth street in said city, a distance of 328.4 feet measured along the east bound track, which strip outside the building was paved with brick and used for station purposes. Standing thereon, with its west line 12.5 feet east of the east line of Thirteenth street, was the depot or station building 80.5 feet long and 26.77 feet wide and adjoining it on the east a baggage room, 24.2 feet long and 20.5 feet wide. Along the middle of the north side of the main part of the depot, extended- a wooden platform about 40 feet long with steps at each end leading to the pavement. In January, 1906, appellee who lived at Moline entered the service of appellant and worked from 1 p. m. to midnight daily as freight truckman at Silvis, some six miles east of Moline. A number of men who lived at Moline and other stations west worked at Silvis, and appellant ran a train consisting of a switch engine and one passenger car from some point west of Moline to Silvis and back, to carry these laborers to and from their homes. At one o ’clock a. m. on April 11,1906, appellee with fifteen or twenty other workmen left Silvis on this work train which proceeded to Moline on appellant’s west bound track. When it was between Fifteenth and Fourteenth streets, appellee went to the front platform, and between Fourteenth and Thirteenth street stepped or jumped from the lower step and was struck by a road engine running east on the east bound track.

“Appellee testified that he went out on the platform when the train was between Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets and stayed there until they were opposite the depot, when he got off. Just as he stepped on the track he saw the light of the approaching road engine about ten or fifteen feet away but did not hear the bell ring at any time. The head light was not bright but reddish or yellow and the place where he stepped off was directly in front of the steps which go into the depot. On cross examination, he stated that he was the first one out of the car and that he stood on the step and did not look. He did not know whether a train was coming or not. He thought if he had stuck his head out he could have seen. When he got off he did not look to see if, anything was coming. The work train was moving when he got off and he did not think of such a thing as a train coming in there and did not pay any special attention to anything but getting off. He had plenty of time to look if he had thought a train was coming. He never knew the train to stop when he got off. They always got off before it stopped. Henry Maudee, who' also worked at Silvis for appellant, and who was on the work train at the time of the accident standing directly behind appellee on the platform when he alighted from the car, testified that the custom was not to stop this work train when the men got off. At the time of the accident it was going at about two miles per hour. He did not hear a whistle sound or a hell ring on the road engine. Maudee said that appellee at the time he was struck was right opposite the steps on the east side of the depot. In his judgment the road engine was going at from ten to fifteen miles per hour and had a red or yellow head light, which in his judgment was an oil light. When appellee was struck he was opposite the main door of the depot and when he was picked up he was four or five feet east of the baggage room. John Peacock testified that he went to the scene of the accident, where his attention was called to one of appellee’s feet wedged in the rail about five or ten feet east of the baggage room. Swan Larson, a patrolman at Moline, testified that he went to the scene of the accident and saw appellee’s foot squeezed in between the rail and plank ten or fifteen feet east of the east end of the depot. Robert Carlson, employed by appellant at Silvis and on the work-train at the time of the accident, testified that sometimes the train would stop when it reached the station at Moline and sometimes it would not. He thought the train had stopped when appellee stepped off. The engine that struck him-was going at the rate of from ten to fifteen miles per hour. He did not think the whistle was blowing. The engine had a light which he knew was not an electric light. Dale Bird, employed at Silvis by appellant and on the work-train at the time of the accident, testified that sometimes the train would stop at the Moline depot and sometimes it would not. The engine that hit appellee was going at the rate of from fifteen to twenty miles per hour and the work-train stopped as it passed. Appellee was about opposite the northeast corner of the baggage room after he was struck. Witness did not hear the bell on either engine and did not know whether the whistle on either engine was blown. Richard Thomas, fireman on the road engine, testified that their engine was going about four miles per hour and that its bell was ringing when it passed through Moline. When it stopped the tender was opposite where appellee’s legs were cut off, just ninety-two feet from the west edge of Fourteenth street. The work train was going about as fast as their engine when appellee got off.

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Bluebook (online)
158 Ill. App. 82, 1910 Ill. App. LEXIS 86, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eidem-v-chicago-rock-island-pacific-railway-co-illappct-1910.