Hughes v. Terminal R. Ass'n of St. Louis

265 S.W.2d 273
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedMarch 8, 1954
DocketNo. 43221
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 265 S.W.2d 273 (Hughes v. Terminal R. Ass'n of St. Louis) 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
Hughes v. Terminal R. Ass'n of St. Louis, 265 S.W.2d 273 (Mo. 1954).

Opinions

VAN OSDOL, Commissioner.

In this action under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, 45 U..S.CA. § 51 et seq., plaintiff-administratrix sought recovery for the death of John E. Hughes, who was fatally injured January 20; 1951, while on - duty as a switchman in defendant’s switch yards. A jury returned a verdict and judgment was rendered for plaintiff in the sum of $30,000. Defendant has appealed.

Defendant-appellant contends the trial court erred in submitting plaintiff’s case to the jury. In supporting this contention, defendant asserts plaintiff’s evidence established that her decedent alighted from a moving train and, without lookingj stepped directly in front of Diesel locomotives moving on an adjacent track, .when even a glance would have disclosed the presence and movement of the locomotives; this evidence, defendant-appellant contends, constitutes conclusive proof that the sole proximate cause of the death of plaintiff’s decedent was his own negligence. Defendant also says that the theories of specific negligence of defendant assubmitted by Instructions Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 erroneously postulated the duty of someone to maintain a lookout for deceased, and that the failure so to do was actionable negligence which proximately caused his death. Defendant-appellant further contends plaintiff’s Instruction No. 5 erroneously submitted negligence in failing to provide a safe place to work; and further asserts the trial court [275]*275erred in refusing to give defendant’s requested Instruction No. 4, and in the admission and exclusion of evidence. ■

Broadly stated, defendant’s contentions relating to the submissibility of plaintiff’s case are that, absent a rule or special custom requiring such precautions, defendant had no duty to look out for deceased, a switchman, or warn him of the Diesel switching movement, or to ascertain' whether or not he was in or was about to go into the pathway of defendant’s Diesels; and, even though defendant has such a duty,’ there was no substantial evidence tending to show that, had defendant’s employees been in position to see deceased was in danger or to communicate and receive signals that he was in danger, defendant’s employees could have stopped the Diesel locomotives in time to have averted the tragedy. Plaintiff-respondent, on the other hand, contends that, in this action under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, the test of defendant’s liability is negligence — the lack of due care under the circumstances; that, under the evidence introduced in the trial of this case, the jury was warranted in inferring that defendant should have anticipated that someone might alight from the train as it was moving northwardly in the switching movement; and that, had defendant’s employees been in position to see deceased and effectively give and receive signals indicating deceased’s presence and danger, the Diesel engines could have been stopped before deceased was struck by .the forward Diesel locomotive. 1

The contentions of the parties require an extended statement of the evidence introduced, and a careful examination of the theories of specific negligence submitted to the jury by the triail court’s instructions.

Plaintiff’s decedent was the “headman” of a switching crew operating with a steam locomotive in defendant’s yards in Illinois. A few seconds before his fatal injury, he had alighted from a freight car, the fifth car (or sixth or seventh, counting the engine tender) north of the steam engine which was coupled to the south end of a “cut” or train of forty-three cars. The train was being backed northwardly in a switching movement (curving northeast-wardly) by which;it was intended to move and set thirty cars of the forty-three-car train on a track, No. 81, the remaining thirteen cars to be retained and moved again southwardly and then again more northeastwardly into the Kettle River Yards.

In the switching movement, plaintiff’s decedent had the duty of relaying signals to the engineer of the steam engine — such signals as were to have been passed on to him by McCrackin, the “rearman” of the switching crew, who was farther north on the west side of the train, and which signals were such as might have been given by the foreman who was still farther to the northward and was superintending the movement and watching the north end of the train “curve in” northeastwardly on Track 81. Plaintiff’s decedent had the ■ duty to alight' from the train and to relay signals. It was usual for .him to alight where he did at a' point near a 'switch, which switch would have governed a subsequent southward movement preliminary to the movement of the thirteen cars ■ into the Kettle River Yards. “He was supposed to stay at that switch” until .these movements were completed. He .“had .to watch McCrackin on this move.” Deceased had been a member of the crew for about a year.and a half. It was a move which had been made every day for “about the last ten years.”

Just before plaintiff’s decedent, alighted from the west side of the train, defendant’s Diesel engines Nos. 589 and 590 were moving northeastwardly,' over a “slip” or “pipeline” switch, toward and onto a north-south track adjacent to and west of the track on which the forty-three-car train was moving. ■ The northward movement of the forty-three-car train on the east track was a “regular” movement; the northward movement on the west track was an “irregular” movement; both tracks are used in both directions; . but “you got to. .get orders when you go irregular In the northbound movement of the Diesels, Diesel engine No. 589 was the leading engine, headed northwardly; Diesel' engine [276]*276No. '590 was the trailing engine, headed southwardly. Coupled “cab to- cáb”,: the two Diesels were operated -as a Unit by the engineer Heinz who was seated in the cab on the right (west) side of the trailing Diesel engine No. 590.

When plaintiff's decedent alighted from the freight car, he did not see the approaching Diesels and stepped in front of the leading Diesel engine No. 589. He was struck by the front footboard; was thrown to the ground; and the right front wheel of- the forward truck of the locomotive passed over his body fatally injuring him. As' stated, when defendant’s Diesel engines were m-oving northeastwardly over the “slip” and onto the north-south track adjacent and to the westward of the tra-ck on which the forty-three-car train was moving, the engineer was operating the Diesel engines from the west (right) side of the cab of the trailing Diesel engine No. 590. [There was evidence introduced tending to show that, in a northward movement, the engineer’s view of objects at the east rail of the track to the northward is obstructed for a distance of 237 feet when the Diesels are being operated by • an engineer seated on the right (west) side of' the cab of the trailing engine.] One Whitson,-the “headman” of the switching crew operating in connection with the Diesel engines, was standing on the “catwalk” on the right of the radiator grill of Diesel engine No. 589.

He had taken this position of shelter from the cold (January) wind blowing from the northwest. His normal position would have been such that he could -have communicated signals to the engineer; and, the engineer being on the west side of the trailing locomotive, Whitson normally would have been on the west side of the forward end of Diesel engine No. 589. The -firemen, whose position is normally on the-left side of the cab of an engine, was consequently on the east side of the cab of engine No. 590. The fireman was not looking northwardly; he was attempting to open the side window of the cab of engine No. 590.

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Bluebook (online)
265 S.W.2d 273, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hughes-v-terminal-r-assn-of-st-louis-mo-1954.