Conlon v. Oregon Short Line Ry. Co.

Citations

• 23 Or. 499
• 32 P. 397
• 1893 Ore. LEXIS 51

Syllabus

<p>1. Master and Servant — Risk of Employment. — A slioveler employed by a railway company to assist in clearing an obstructed track assumes the risk of washed-out bridges and tracks, when these are caused by unusual storms which could not have been anticipated or provided against; but he does not assume this risk when the danger might have been discovered and averted by reasonable diligence and proper care.</p> <p>2. Idem — Defective Bridse — Unusual Storm. — A shoveler engaged by a railway company to assist in removing dirt and other obstructions from its track, where they have been washed by an unusual storm or freshet, does not assume the risk of the company’s failure before the storm to keep in proper repair a bridge over which the train on which he is carried is required to pass, or to send out a trackwalker in advance of the trains to ascertain the condition of the track or bridge after the storm, or to take such other due and precautionary measures to prevent accidents as may be required by the exigency of the situation.</p> <p>3. Negligence — Question foe Juey. — Whether it was negligence for a railroad company to send out a train loaded with workmen, without making any investigation as to the condition of a bridge over which the train must pass, is a question for the jury, there having been an unusually severe storm since it was inspected.</p> <p>4. Pbaotice in Chakging Juey. — It is proper for the court, after examining the instructions submitted by the respective parties, where they are numerous and long, to charge the jury in its own language by a connected series of instructions fairly covering the material issues presented in the case.</p>