Donaldson v. Great Northern Railway Co.

Citations

• 89 Wash. 161
• 154 P. 133
• 1916 Wash. LEXIS 835

Syllabus

<p>Appeal — Review—Verdict. Upon conflicting evidence supporting either side, the verdict of a jury is conclusive, regardless of the weight of the evidence.</p> <p>Master and' Servant — Injury to Servant — Negligence — Proximate Cause — Evidence—Question for Jury. The evidence of a dozen experts who stated positively that the conditions after a boiler explosion showed conclusively that the explosion was caused by low water does not conclusively establish the same as a scientific fact, where their statements were only opinions drawn from previous experience; and the question is one for the jury where the fireman, the only one in a position to know positively whether there was water in the boiler, testified that the water glass showed sufficient water to prevent an explosion.</p> <p>Same — Negligence—Evidence—Question for Jury. In an action for the death of an engineer through the explosion of a locomotive boiler, it is for the jury to determine whether the railroad company was guilty of negligence in converting a coal burning locomotive into an oil burner without changing button head bolts or using fusible plugs, and as to the presence or absence of scale on the crown sheet, where there was evidence that button head bolts had a tedency to become overheated by an oil flame, and taper heads were used on oil burners, and that fusible plugs were a means of preventing explosions.</p> <p>Appeal — Review—Trial—Misconduct of Counsel — Invited Error. In an action for the death of a locomotive engineer under the Federal employers’ liability act, it is not misconduct on the part of plaintiff’s counsel warranting a new trial that he offered in evidence the report of Federal inspectors, which, by 36 U. S. Stat. at L. 916, is made inadmissible for any purpose in any suit, where the defendant’s counsel, in his opening statement, explained the malting and publication of such reports and stated that plaintiff had access to the report and could produce it, if they desired, as correct;