Boyd v. Harris

Citations

• 176 Pa. 484
• 38 W.N.C. 397
• 35 A. 222
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 1102

Syllabus

<p>Railroads — Location of cattle chute — Discretion of officers of company.</p> <p>The location and arrangement of a permanent structure, such as a cattle chute, necessary for the proper operation of a railroad, is within the discretion of the officers of the railroad company, and this discretion is to be exercised in view of the conformation of the surface, the character of the business to be accommodated, and the convenience of the servants and employees by whom it is to be carried on; it is part and parcel of, the work of construction, and is governed by the same principles.</p> <p>Negligence — Railroads—Location of cattle chute — Master and servant-r-Risk of employment.</p> <p>If a permanent structure, such as a cattle chute, is so located as to involve unusual danger to employees operating a railroad, it is the' duty of the company to advise such of its employees as ai'e exposed to the danger of its existence, or afford them an opportunity to know its character and extent by observation. On the other hand, the employees when they take service upon a railroad know that it is a service which exposes them to many dangers necessarily incident to the employment. The risk of these dangers they assume when they accept the employment. As between themselves and their employer, they undertake to exercise the measure of attention and care necessary to protect themselves from such danger, and if they fail in this respect and suffer injury in consequence, they are without remedy.</p> <p>In an action by the widow of a brakeman against a railroad company to recover damages for her husband’s death, it appeared that the death of the deceased was caused by a cattle chute alleged to have been located too close to the edge of the railroad track. The defendant requested the court to charge, that the “ deceased for nearly two months passing almost daily, and sometimes several times a day, the point at which the accident occurred, and having taken cars out of the siding before, is p