Flanagan v. Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad

Citations

• 181 Pa. 237
• 37 A. 341
• 1897 Pa. LEXIS 534

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Railroads—Stations—Alighting from trains — Crossing trades.</p> <p>It is the duty of a railroad company to provide a safe and convenient means of passage to and from its passenger cars, and it is the duty of a passenger to comply with the company’s reasonable rules and regulations for entering and leaving the ears, by using the why provided.</p> <p>Knowledge by a passenger that a safe and convenient platform has been provided by' the railroad company is notice to him of a rule that passengers should get off and on the cars at that place.</p> <p>If the way provided by a railroad company for • a station is across a track, a passenger may rely upon the performance by the company of the duty to keep the track clear while passengers are in the act of passing between the train and the station; but this is only the case when a way is provided and the passenger is impliedly invited to'take it. If he disregards the rules of the company by passing to or from the cars on the opposite side from the station or platform he does so at his peril,</p> <p>In an action by a passenger against a railroad company to recover damages for personal injuries, it appeared that the plaintiff was injured at a station where there wore five tracks. An elevated platform extended along the side of the track nearest the station, and from this platform steps led to two overhead crossings, one north and one south of the station. The space between the tracks had been planked for the convenience of the employees of the road and of passengers who might want to reach the fifth track, which at this point branched from the main line. The plaintiff, who was familiar with the locality, came to the station on a train which ran on the second track, alighted from the train on the side furthest from the station and platform, with the intention of walking across the third, fourth and fifth tracks in order to reach by a shorter route the works at which he was employed. The morning was dark and stormy