Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad v. Lee

Citations

• 60 Ill. 501

Syllabus

<p>1. AGENT — declarations of — res gestee — depositions. The declarations of an agent are not admissible as evidence unless they are made in connection with the transaction of the business of his agency, and form a part of the res gestee. And it is error for the court to refuse to suppress an answer to an interrogatory in a deposition which proves the declarations of an agent after the transaction has occurred. And to. suppress such answer, it is not necessary that the' answer should have been objected to when the deposition was taken.</p> <p>2. Railroad — negligence—evidence. It is error for the court to admit evidence that, at previous times, the bell had not been rung or the whistle sounded as trains passed the place where the accident occurred, to prove negligence at the time of the collision. Nor does it waive the error that defendant had permitted similar evidence of other witnesses without objection. That did not render tbs' further admission of such evidence admissible when objected to, on being offered. Nor was it admissible to discredit the evidence of the engineer, as he made the statements intended to be contradicted, in answer to questions propounded by plaintiff on cross-examination. A party can not cross-examine a witness as to a collateral fact for the purpose of laying a foundation to contradict him.</p> <p>3. Neoligehce — comparative. Where an instruction informed the jury that, if the employees neglected to ring a hell or sound the whistle as required hy statute, the plaintiff was entitled to recover of the company for killing her husband unless he was guilty of a greater degree of negligence : Meld, such an instruction was too broad, as it should have limited the liability of the company to the injury caused by a failure to ring the bell or sound the whistle, and it should have been modified so as to have informed the jury that the negligence of deceased must have been slight as compared with that of the company. Instructions in such cases shoul