Ottley v. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co.

232 S.W.2d 966, 360 Mo. 1189, 1950 Mo. LEXIS 689
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedSeptember 11, 1950
DocketNo. 41703
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 232 S.W.2d 966 (Ottley v. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway 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
Ottley v. St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co., 232 S.W.2d 966, 360 Mo. 1189, 1950 Mo. LEXIS 689 (Mo. 1950).

Opinion

LOZIER, C.

This is an appeal in a Federal Employers’ Liability Act case wherein respondent (hereihafter 'called plaintiff) had verdict and judgment for $10,200. Appellant (hereinafter called defendant) contends that its motions for1 directed verdict should have been sustained and that plaintiff’s main instruction is erroneous. ■ ’

Plaintiff, a freight car inspector, sustained his injury while worlú' ing in defendant’s Rosedale, Kan., Freight Yard. This was a busy “classification” yard in which about 700 ears were received daily. It consisted, primarily, of-a large number of parallel switch tracks, used in breaking and making freight trains and in transferring ears, or “cuts” (ears coupled together) from one train-to another. These switch'tracks ran northeast-southwest and at each énd were connected with a lead track. Switch engine crews operated on and off of the lead tracks, “kicking in” or shunting cars .or cuts-upon some of the switch tracks and removing them from others.

Plaintiff was injured February 17, 1946. He and his working partner, Parrish, had completed inspection of cars on track 17 and were walking toward track 42 to inspect cars on that track. The direct route to track 42 was blocked by a string of about 30 empty hopper coal cars, coupled together, standing on track 20 with no engine attached. -Instéad of walking around either end car [1192]*1192or climbing over a car, plaintiff crawled beneath the couplers of two cars. These couplers were about-30 inches above the ties. When he was under the couplers, crawling on his hands and knees or crouched between the rails, a cut of 4 moving wheat-laden ears (which had been kicked in by the switch crew, operating on the southwest lead track) came in contact with the end car of the .string. The entire string was moved and plaintiff's right foot was mashed by a moving car wheel, and he sustained other injuries. .

Plaintiff pleaded that his duties required him to go to various parts of the yard for the purpose of inspecting cars and making light repairs; that on that occasion he was crossing the yard; that there was a long string of dead ears on the track; that “it was necessary for plaintiff to get across said' track in order to carry out further duties and inspections and repairs assigned to him” by defendant; that “in .order to go around said train it would have been necessary for him to travel several hundred feet, and in such circumstances he was ordered, directed and required” by-defendant, “to go under or over said standing cars, and it was part of his duties and orders to go under said standing cars at said, time in order to cross said tracks and get on the other side; that he attempted in accordance with orders of his superior and in accordance with the usual custom and practice to pass under said standing cars and was in the act of só doing and engaged in performing his customary duties as aforesaid when and where” defendant “negligently and without warning caused said ears to be negligently and violently and with unusual and extra-ordinary and .unnecessary force struck and violently knocked, shunted, rolled and moved” thereby injuring plaintiff.

The specific negligence alleged by plaintiff was defendant’s “ordering, directing and requiring plaintiff, to pass under said standing cars and violently and without warning colliding with and striking same” and.“in.so-failing to provide and maintain a reasonably safe place to work and reasonably safe working conditions.” .

Defendant, after denying . generally, answered, that if plaintiff was injured on that occasion, then the injury “was directly caused by plaintiff’s own careless- and negligent failure to exercise ordinary care and caution for his own safety and by plaintiff’s violation of safety rules and regulations of his employment by” defendant “and more particularly Rules 7, 35, 316 and 317.” Defendant then set out these rules, viz.:

“Rule 7. Employees must not go between cars for any purpose without protection or knowing that, cars or engines are not coming ip. from either end of. track. ”

‘ ‘ Rule 35. Employees must never crawl under cars or -equipment unless proper protection is provided.” - -

■■ Rules 316 and 317 set out, the “blue, flag” rule, relating to- ear inspectors or other employees inspecting, or working upon, under or [1193]*1193about -.cars.' Tbe evidence- of both parties showed that Rules 316 and 317 were not applicable here as plaintiff, when injured, was not inspecting or working upon, about or under the cars on track 20. Unless otherwise indicated, references hereinafter to rules or ■ safety-rules are to Rules 7 and 35.

At the time of his injury this 64-year-old plaintiff had been defendant’s employee for 24 years. The preceding.year he had worked in the Rosedale Yard.- His duties as an inspector were the inspection of cars on the switch tracks and their safety appliances and the making of minor repairs. If he deemed major repairs necessary, he "bad ordered” the-car,- i. e., had it‘sent to a "rip” (repair) track. His work required him to cross aiid recross' the switch tracks- often each day. -

Plaintiff testified that he'-was thoroughly familiar with the operations of the yard and thé -manner in- which switch crews moved cars and cuts on and off switch -tracks from the lead' tracks ; that • cars could be kicked in on any switch track from either lead at any time, even when the switch engine on the lead track was 3 or 4 blocks away; that it was the usual procedure for- cars to be kicked in on a track; that "they uncoupled them and they rolled on down to the other cars,” -by gravity and momentum; that "they let them go and hit the other cars”; that "they were moving ears all the time there”; that "cars' were constantly moving - everywhere ”; that "we-didn’t know what time the switch engine would put ears in on any track” or "when the cars were coming, in on any track”; and that "you just have the feeling that-any car will move any minute down there.”

Plaintiff stated that, at' the time of the 'accident, he - and Parrish were not engaged in the inspection of,-or engaged in the performance of any duties relating to, the cars on track 20; that he knew that that track was being -used as a trade to "set in” ears; that he knew that these particular cars were there only temporarily; that he "knew it was dangerous to attempt-to go between the cars-without knowing whether or not they were going to b'e moved”.; that "we came to this string and looked-up and down- both ways to 'see if anything was moving and there wasn’t”; that:to the southwest he could 'see as far as the lead -switch to track-20 (500 or 600 feet-from where he crawled under), but he could not see the -lead track because cars standing on other switch tracks obstructed his view;' that he knew a switch' engine was working on that lead track; -that when he was under the couplers ■ something hit the string "a -terrible jolt'that started the ears rolling *■''* - * -ab.out 25 óf 30: feet before it Came to a stop”; that this was "an unusual movement” and "not the kind they made every day”; and that, ordinarily, if the brakes on standing cars were 'set, a string would move-only 8 or 10 inches.'1 [1194]*1194Plaintiff stated that he did not notify anyone that he intended to crawl under the couplers; that he “didn’t say anything to Parrish”; and that, “when an engine drops cars against a cut, such as occurred in this case, we would not expect a signal from the engine as the switch crew would have no way of knowing when we were going through'a cut of cars, as in this case.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
232 S.W.2d 966, 360 Mo. 1189, 1950 Mo. LEXIS 689, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ottley-v-st-louis-san-francisco-railway-co-mo-1950.