Hildebrand v. Director General of Railroads

Citations

• 270 Pa. 86
• 112 A. 875
• 14 A.L.R. 1393
• 1921 Pa. LEXIS 328

Syllabus

<p>Negligence—Railroads—Unguarded, wall along bank of stream,— Attractive nuisance—Trespasser—Contributory negligence—Case for 'court.</p> <p>1. Where a person is injured in a place where he has no right to he, and the owner is using his property in a lawful manner for a lawful purpose, the owner is not liable unless wantonness or wilfulness is shown. He is not hound to keep his premises in a suitable condition, and, as against trespassers, he need not take any of the ordinary precautions to safeguard places on his property.</p> <p>2. Where a railroad company constructs a retaining wall on its own property along the hank of a stream, without constructing a barrier to safeguard persons from falling over the wall into the stream, it is not liable for injuries to a pedestrian, familiar with the locality, who on a dark night wandered from a cement sidewalk, onto the company’s property, which was covered with cinders, and, after walking fifteen feet, fell over the wall into the stream.</p> <p>3. Where there are natural conditions on a landowner’s land containing elements of danger, eight feet from the footwalk of a public highway, the owner is not negligent in not erecting guards. If they immediately joined the highway it would be different.</p> <p>4. The attractive nuisance cases have no application to the facts of this case.</p>