Brennan v. Front Street Cable Railway Co.

Citations

• 8 Wash. 363
• 36 P. 272
• 1894 Wash. LEXIS 68

Syllabus

<p>DEATH BY WRONGFUL ACT — CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE — NON-SUIT.</p> <p>A judgment of non-suit will not be reversed if any one of the several grounds for the motion therefor is sufficient, although the court may have founded his ruling upon an inadequate reason.</p> <p>Although contributory negligence is a matter of defense in this state, yet where in an action for damages as a result of defendant’s negligence it appears by the plaintiff’s case that he is chargeable with contributory negligence, the defendant is entitled to a non-suit.</p> <p>In an action for damages for death caused by the wrongful act of defendant, there can be no recovery on the ground of the contributory negligence of the deceased, when the evidence shows that' deceased was an employe of a cable railway company; that among his duties was the placing of cans of lubricating oil on the dummy cars prior to their first trip, and the oiling of the sheave wheels of the cable before it was started for the day; that on the day of the injury he arrived a little late to his work, and that before he had replaced the planks above the manhole leading to the sheave wheels, after oiling them, he was angrily ordered by the superintendent to let the planks alone and get out the cars; that the first train was then being pushed out of the power house, and that he rushed into the house, caught up an oil can, and hastened to place it in position on the dummy car, which was at the time being pushed toward the sheave wheels, and that after arranging the can he stepped off the car into the uncovered manhole and was crushed to death by the sheave wheels.</p>