Robinson v. St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad

112 S.W. 730, 133 Mo. App. 101, 1908 Mo. App. LEXIS 311
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 23, 1908
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 112 S.W. 730 (Robinson v. St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robinson v. St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad, 112 S.W. 730, 133 Mo. App. 101, 1908 Mo. App. LEXIS 311 (Mo. Ct. App. 1908).

Opinion

BLAND, P. J.

Plaintiff, on January 6, 1906, was injured while assisting a crew of men to load trucks on a flat car for defendant at H'ayti, Missouri. The action is to recover for the resulting damages. The petition is in one count but sets forth two distinct assignments of negligence, one of commission as follows:

“While plaintiff was working as a common laborer, and employed. by defendant, engaged in the work of operating its railroad in Pemiscot county, Missouri, under the orders, direction and immediate supervision of defendant’s foreman, or .overseer, and while in the line of his duty, he, with other employees of defendant, were engaged in loading large and heavy trucks, or parts of car's, on a flat and open car, in Hayti, in said county; the said car being on one of defendant’s switch tracks in the corporate limits of Hayti.
“That the trucks were of iron, or steel, and weighed several thousand pounds each, and the mode adopted for loading them was to place the end of two rails, or skids, some twenty feet in length, on the end of the flat car, which was about five feet in height, and the other ends of the skids on the rails of the railroad track; then rolling, pushing and pulling the trucks upon and along the skids onto the flat car.
“While he was assisting his co-employees in loading the trucks in that way, and under the supervision of his foreman, who was the vice-principal of defendant, and his co-employees, the defendant’s said foreman and vice-principal and co-employees and colaborers negligently, carelessly and recklessly permitted and caused one of the trucks to fall and roll against and upon plaintiff, inflicting serious and permanent injuries on his left [106]*106breast, left side and back, and ribs of Ms left breast, and left shoulder and collar bone; thereby causing Ms left arm and shoulder to become permanently stiff and useless.
“That at the moment he was injured he was between two skids immediately behind the truck, which had been rolled or shoved up the skids to about their middle, and he was where it was his duty to be, and he was in the act of catcMng or fastening a hook to the truck for the purpose of drawing and pulling it onto the flat car.
“Blocks or scotches had been placed on the skids immediately behind the wheels of the trucks to prevent it from rolling back or falling; and the said vice-principal and one-or more of plaintiff’s colaborers, or fellow-servants, were, at the moment the plaintiff was in the act of fastening the hook, holding the scotches in their proper places behind the wheels of the truck, as it wras their duty to do, when suddenly and without a warning to, or knowledge of, plaintiff, the vice-principal and co-laborers carelessly removed the scotches from their proper places, and negligently permitted them to move and fall from their proper position behind the wheels of the truck, and thereby causing the truck to fall and roll upon plaintiff, and inflicting upon him the said injuries.”

The other assignment of negligence (of omission) is as follows:

“That it was the duty of defendant to furnish plaintiff and his co-employees, with reasonably safe, sufficient and proper machinery to load the trucks, but it neglected to do so, and thereby caused him to receive his injuries; that the ordinary and customary way and manner of loading these trucks on flat cars was by the use of a derrick or wrecker, and this renders the loading of .trucks reasonably safe; while to so load without a wrecker renders said labor and work very dangerous and unsafe; that defendant, and its vice-principal, negli[107]*107gently and recklessly ordered and required plaintiff, and liis colaborers, to so load, or attempt to load, said trucks without thus providing them with a wrecker, thereby causing the injuries aforesaid. That the injuries complained of were not within the ordinary risk of his employment; that the dangers incident to the loading of said trucks in the way and manner adopted by the defendant on this occasion were known to the defendant, but were wholly unknown to plaintiff; and plaintiff, when injured, was exercising ordinary care.”

The answer was a general denial and a plea of contributory negligence.

On the threshold of the trial and at the close of plaintiff’s evidence, defendant moved that' plaintiff be required to elect upon which cause of action or assignment of negligence he would rely. The court overruled the motions.

Plaintiff was employed by defendant as a car repairer and blacksmith and had never loaded trucks until the morning of the day he was injured. Pat Murray, who was a section foreman, had charge of loading the trucks, and plaintiff and one or two other car repair men were ordered by the boss to assist the section gang. Defendant’s statement of the facts, with the- corrections and additions to follow, will give a correct history of the case. The statement is as follows:

“These trucks consisted of two pair of carwheels of standard gauge four feet eight and one-half inches, weighing from three to five hundred pounds. The method employed to load these trucks was two skids, about 6x8, and about twenty feet in length, bolted together at each end in the middle with rods; one end of the skids was placed on the end of the car, and the other down on the track, and fit the track. A block and tackle was fastened on top of the flat car, and a rope with hooks at the end hooked over the axle, and by means of the block and tackle, the trucks were pulled along the [108]*108skids up on the car by men on tbe car; and as they would pull the trucks they would scotch them, and then catch a new hold and scotch and pull again.
“Pat Murray and Charles Martin were on the ground attending to the scotching; Murray on one side of the skids and Martin on. the other, and plaintiff and George Lawhom were also on the ground. Keenan was on the ground between the trucks and the end of the flat car attending to placing the hook around the axle; the others were up on the flat car pulling the trucks up the skids by means of the block and tackle.
“The scotches were of 2x4 pieces of oak and a foot 'and a half or two feet long, and were sound; and they used them in loading the trucks before and after the injury. They had loaded ten or twelve pairs of trucks the day before plaintiff was injured, and at least one pair was loaded before he got hurt, and they were all loaded, on the skids in the same manner. The scotches were placed behind the rear wheels of the trucks and right under the flange of the wheels, slightly angling", so that they would catch squarely against the wheel, and this plan of scotching was pursued before and after the injury; these skids were used at Hayti all the time. As they were pulling up a pair of trucks in this manner, Keenan, who Avas on the ground between the trucks and the flat car attending to the hooks, made a suggestion that they take the hooks off the axle and fasten them underneath on the sand board, so the trucks would pull up easier. They generally agreed that this change was advisable and concluded to try it. When this suggestion was made Keenan Avas at his place, and Pat Murray was standing on one side of the skids and Charles Martin on the other side, at their places, attending to the scotches, and plaintiff and LaAvliorn Avere on the ground, at their places; Murray said they would try the change.

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Related

Misenhelter v. Geronimo Lead & Zinc Co.
192 S.W. 147 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1917)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
112 S.W. 730, 133 Mo. App. 101, 1908 Mo. App. LEXIS 311, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robinson-v-st-louis-san-francisco-railroad-moctapp-1908.