Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway Co. v. Krouse

30 Ohio St. (N.S.) 222
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 15, 1876
StatusPublished

This text of 30 Ohio St. (N.S.) 222 (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway Co. v. Krouse) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway Co. v. Krouse, 30 Ohio St. (N.S.) 222 (Ohio 1876).

Opinion

Johnson, J.

We think the Court erred in its charges to the jury as to the relative duties and obligations of the-plaintiff" and defendant toward each other at the time the injury was caused.

. The question of contributory negligence by the plaintiff' was presented; that is, whether he had so directly contributed to his own injury, as to bar a recovery, and the effect of the charges we shall notice, was, practically, to take from the jury its determination.

We will notice those charges given and refused which relate to this point.

1. The court charged; “The plaintiff claims that he-[229]*229went on the defendant’s cars at Coshocton to get his change. This he had a right to do, and if the conductor neglected to stop the train, or so far check its motion as to afford the plaintiff an opportunity of getting off with safety, he, the plaintiff, would have a right to remain on the train. Dut if the conductor in charge of the train ordered or directed him to jump off as quick as he could, and the conductor neither stopped the train, cheeked its speed, ndr attempted to stop or check it, and the plaintiff, in pursuance ¡and in obedience of such order, jumped off while the train was moving at the rate of four miles an hour, and was injured, the defendant would be liable ; provided you find that the plaintiff, in jumping off the train, exercised ordinary care and prudence to avoid injury.” To which charge defendants excepted.

2. Also the following : “ That if the jury shall find that .•at the time the plaintiff received the injury complained of in the petition, that the defendant was a railrpad company, ■engaged in carrying freight and passengers on their railway from Newark to Steubenville, in the State of Ohio, and were running trains called local freight trains between 'Newark and Dennison, in the State of Ohio, which trains were used for carrying freight and passengers, and that the plaintiff, with the consent of the conductor of one of said trains, got on board of said train at Coal Port or Franklin station, to be carried on said train from said station to Cosh■octon, for a reward to be paid by said plaintiff to said company, then said plaintiff was a passenger, and entitled to all the rights of passengers on railway trains; and if the jury ¡shall further find that, after said plaintiff had so got on said train, and said train had started eastwardly on its way to Coshocton, the said conductor called upon said plaintiff, and demanded his fare, and informed plaintiff that the amount ■of said fare was twenty-five cents, and that plaintiff had only ten cents in change, but also had a,five dollar bill, and informed said conductor that he only had ten cents in change, and had a five dollar bill, and offered the ten cents to the conductor, and promised to pay the balance when [230]*230he arrived at Coshocton ; and that said conductor refused to take the ten cents, but informed plaintiff' he would take said five dollar bill, and pay the plaintiff' his change when the train arrived at Coshocton, and took and kept the five-dollar bill; and if the jury shall further find that said'conductor retained said money, and the train arrived at Coshocton, and the plaintiff' got off' the train and waited at the-station for his change, and that said conductor failed and neglected to give plaintiff' his change, but started said train, in motion .on its eastward journey from the town of Coshocton, without giving the plaintiff' his change, that then the plaintiff' bad a right to go on board of said train and demand said change; and if they further find that plaintiff" did go on board of said train, while the same was in motion, for the purpose of so demanding said change, and did demand it, and the said conductor handed him his five dollar bill, and told him to pay the twenty-five cents the next time he got on said train, and to get off’ as quick as he-could, without offering or attempting to stop said train, or-to slacken its speed, to enable plaintiff to get off, and in-pursuance of said direction plaintiff' did jump off of said train while the same was in motion, and running at a rate of speed of only four or five miles an hour, and received: 'the injury complained of in the petition ; and if they find. that in so jumping off said train the plaintiff exercised such care as a reasonably prudent man, under the same circumstances, would, have done, then the defendant is liable, and the plaintiff is entitled to recover.” To which charge defendants excepted.

That is to say : 1. If the conductor “ ordered or directed the plaintiff to jump while the train was in motion, neither stopx>ing nor attempting to check it up, the defendant was, as matter of law, liable for the injury, provided ordinary care and prudence was used by the plaintiff to avoid injury while jumping off. 2. If the conductor told plaintiff to get off as quick as he could, without stopping or attempting to-stop the train, and in- pursuance of said direction plaintiff-jumped oft', while the train was in motion and running at the speed of four or five miles an hour, the plaintiff is en[231]*231titled to recover, if the jury find “ that in so jumping off said train the plaintiff exercised such care as a reasonably prudent man, under the same circumstances, would have done.”

The charges involve the same principle, and are liable to the same objections.

They assume that the liability of the defendant for the-injury was absolutely fixed, provided the plaintiff jumped with proper prudence and skill, however imprudent the act may have been.

They take from the jury as a fact, the question as to whether the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence in the transaction, provided the plaintiff was ordered or told to get off, and provided he jumped as a prudent and careful man would under the same circumstances.

They charge to the defendant’s account whatever imprudences or faults the plaintiff may have been guilty of in getting on the train while in motion, and thus creating the emergency out of which the injury arose, or in getting off again, without any compulsion, or without requesting the conductor to check or stop the train, provided the mode and manner of jumping off was such as a'careful and prudent, man would adopt.

To entitle the plaintiff to recover, he must show :

1. That the defendant’s negligence caused or directly contributed to the injury.

2. That the plaintiff himself was without fault directly contributing to, or causing the injury.

Eor the purposes of this discussion, we may assume that a case was made showing that defendant was at fault in not stopping or checking the train to let the plaintiff off', and that this fault directly contributed to the injury; though we are inclined to the opinion that, under the special circumstances of this case, that was a question of fact for the jury, rather than of law for the court, as the charge assumes, when the jury are told that upon these facts the plaintiff was entitled to recover, if he had jumped with proper care and skill.

The chief objection to these charges which we shall [232]*232notice is, that they take from the jury all questions of fault or negligence of the plaintiff in getting on and off the train while it was in motion, provided he exercised proper care and prudence in the manner of getting off, if he was directed or told to get off.

The plaintiff’s journey had ended.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
30 Ohio St. (N.S.) 222, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pittsburgh-cincinnati-st-louis-railway-co-v-krouse-ohio-1876.