Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad v. McLallen

Citations

• 84 Ill. 109

Syllabus

<p>1. Negligence—whether plaintiff's intestate was negligent. Where the conductor of a wild or extra train of freight cars was ordered, by telegraph from the assistant superintendent, to leave a certain station and run to the next, ahead of a passenger train then due by the time table, and did attempt to do so, but was killed by the passenger train colliding with his train, it was held, that he had the right to expect that the passenger train was behind ‘time, and was not guilty of such negligence as to preclude a recovery.</p> <p>3. Same — in railway company. Where a railway company, through its proper agent, gave the conductor of a wild freight train orders to leave a certain station and run to the next ahead of a passenger train, and failed to notify the conductor of the passenger train of such fact, and restrain its speed, whereby a collision occurred, resulting in the death of the conductor of the freight train, this was held to be negligence on the part of the company.</p> <p>3. Same—right of employee to recover for negligence of co^mployee. The rule that a railway company is not responsible for an injury to an employee, resulting from the negligence of a co-employee with the party injured, and in the same line of business, has no application to a case where the party injured is a conductor obeying orders from the assistant superintendent, whose negligence produces the injury; as between the conductor and the company, the assistant superintendent is the representative of the company, and his orders and those of his assistants are those of the company.</p> <p>4. Cobpoeation—railroad—rules and regulations. A railway corporation has the lawful right to make reasonable rules for the conduct of its employees, and also for the conduct of passengers. Whether any given rule be reasonable, and therefore within the power of the corporation, or whether it be unreasonable, and therefore ultra vires, is a question of law for the court; but whether such rules arc adequate f