Atlantic City Railroad v. Parker

Syllabus

<p>Iu this action for personal injury, governed by the Safety Appliance and Employers’ Liability Acts, it is held, that the evidence concerning the fitness and efficiency of the automatic couplers in question, and concerning the special condition which existed, as a result of the train’s being on a curve when the couplers failed and the áccident occurred, did not preclude a reasonable inference that the Safety Appliance Act was not complied with.</p> <p>When couplers fail to couple automatically on a straight track because of lateral play of the drawheads, the jury may properly infer that such a degree of play was unnecessary and violative of the Safety Appliance- Act, in the absence of any satisfactory explanation.</p> <p>The ease is not different where the failure to couple occurs on a curve if the effect of the curvature may have been negligible.</p>