Schepers v. Union Depot Railroad

29 S.W. 712, 126 Mo. 665, 1895 Mo. LEXIS 214
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedFebruary 19, 1895
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 29 S.W. 712 (Schepers v. Union Depot Railroad) 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
Schepers v. Union Depot Railroad, 29 S.W. 712, 126 Mo. 665, 1895 Mo. LEXIS 214 (Mo. 1895).

Opinion

Mace aduane, J.

— This is an action, under the statute, to recover the sum of $5,000, as damages, for the death of plaintiff’s husband by the alleged negligence of defendant’s employees in charge of one of its trains of street cars. A trial resulted in a verdict and judgment for plaintiff and defendant appealed.

Defendant operated by electric power a line of street cars along Russell avenue, Twelfth street, and other streets in the city of St. Louis. Russell avenue runs'east and west through the city and crosses Twelfth street at right angles. The railway track is located along Russell from the east to Twelfth street, where it turns south by a long curve onto that street. There is a rising grade on the avenue until Twelfth street is reached, from which there is a descending grade of about four feet in one hundred. Two cars, known as the motor car and trailer, were run in a train on the occasion of the death of plaintiff’s husband. A curve of the railway track extends down Twelfth street about twenty-seven feet from the center of the cross walk on the south side of the avenue. On the southwest corner of these streets is a saloon having a side door opening to Twelfth street, near the corner of the building. Just prior to the accident, deceased was in the saloon awaiting a train going south on Twelfth street, on which he intended taking passage. On seeing a train passing upon the curve he left the saloon hastily, ran down Twelfth street, passed the trailer, and undertook to board the motor car while in motion, and in doing so was thrown down and the trailer ran over him, causing his death.

The petition charges in substance that while the cars were going slowly round the curve at Twelfth street and Russell avenue, he hailed them, by beckoning with his hand, with the view of taking passage; that both [669]*669the conductor of the motor and the trailer car knew from his actions that he intended and desired to take passage thereon, but they negligently failed to signal the motor man thereof; that while the cars slowly rounded said curve he took hold of the motor car to get on, when the electric power was negligently, suddenly and without warning applied by the motor man with great force, by which the cars were suddenly jerked forward, and he wag thereby thrown upon the track and killed. The petition also charged negligence in failing to provide a proper lifeguard between the two cars.

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

An ordinance of the city required that “when any car shall be required to stop at the intersection of streets to receive or leave passengers, it shall be stopped so as to leave the rear platform partly over the crossing.” The evidence offered by plaintiff tended to prove that when deceased came out of the saloon at the side door, the hind or trailer car had not yet passed over the crossing; that deceased held up his hand as a signal that he wished to take passage, and that the conductor on the motor saw the signal, but gave no notice to the motor man to stop; that the train was then moving at the rate of three or four miles per hour; that deceased ran in a southeasterly direction .toward the motor car, caught up with it, and took hold of the hand hold on the rear dash board with his left hand, and as he reached with his right hand for the hand hold on the body of the car, the speed was suddenly increased and deceased was thrown down and the trailer ran over him. It was shown by the evidence introduced by plaintiff that deceased was not on the street when the forward car reached the crossing, and that neither the motor man nor the conductor on the trailer saw him approaching [670]*670the cars at all. The conductor on the motor car saw him when within five to ten feet of that car, but gave no signal to stop until he saw the danger to which deceased was exposed.

The evidence of defendant tended to prove that the hind car had passed the crossing before deceased came out of the saloon, and was running down the grade at increasing speed, and in the visual manner, when deceased undertook to board it; that there was no unusual jerk or sudden increase in speed, and that every effort was made to stop the train, as soon as the conductor saw the peril in which deceased had placed himself.

Evidence was also offered by plaintiff to the effect that, at the time of the accident, there was in approved use on some street railroads in the country an appliance beneath cars, known .as the “Johnson fender,” which was a protection to passengers and train employees who might fall between the cars. This fender was hot in use on these cars. Whether this contrivance was in approved use, and whether it would afford protection was disputed. Evidence was given supporting both theories.

Eight instructions were given the jury at request of plaintiff. Some of these are very lengthy, and we will only undertake to consider the principles of law involved in them without setting them out in full.

I. It may be said in the first place that reversible error was committed in an instruction given plaintiff on the question of contributory negligence. By this instruction the jury was told “that the law presumes every man to have been using due care for his own safety, and that presumption is not overthrown by the mere fact of his being injured; that to overcome the presumption of such due care there must be evidence of carelessness and negligence on his part.”

[671]*671There was evidence before the jury tending to prove contributory negligence. Every circumstance' from which the death resulted was before the jury, and it was for them to determine therefrom whether the negligence of deceased was a contributing cause. Such an instruction has' been disapproved in several recent cases. Moberly v. Railroad, 98 Mo. 183; Rapp v. Railroad, 106 Mo. 428; Myers v. City of Kansas, 108 Mo. 487.

II. It is difficult’from the petition to tell whether the pleader intended to count upon negligence of defendant as a common carrier of passengers, or upon negligence in the mere management and operation of its cars. It is clear, however, that the case was tried upon the theory that deceased was a passenger and entitled to the high degree of care a carrier owes to a passenger. This is shown by the evidence introduced by plaintiff and by the instruction asked by her, and given by the court. The theory of the defense is that deceased never became a passenger, and its duty to him was only that of proper diligence to avoid injuring him when his danger became apparent. Evidence was offered by defendant with a view of sustaining its theory. The court at the request of plaintiff gave this instruction:

“3. The jury should determine from all the evidence whether Joseph Schepers attempted to take passage on one of defendant’s trains of cars, and if they so find, whether said defendant or any agent, officer, servant or employee of defendant, whilst running, conducting and managing the car or train upon which he attempted to take passage, failed to exercise the utmost diligence, care and foresight of very cautious persons under like circumstances, and the absence or want of such diligence, care and foresight would render the defendant liable if Joseph Schepers came to his [672]*672death, thereby, if the jury believe and find from all the evidence that said Joseph Schepers used ordinary care for his own safety.”

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Bluebook (online)
29 S.W. 712, 126 Mo. 665, 1895 Mo. LEXIS 214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schepers-v-union-depot-railroad-mo-1895.