Hoffman v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad

Citations

• 39 Pa. Super. 47
• 1909 Pa. Super. LEXIS 436

Syllabus

<p>Carriers — Common carriers — Railroads—Delivery—Misdirection on waybill — N egligence.</p> <p>1. In the absence of a contract providing otherwise, the obligation of a carrier of goods is to transport by the usual route adopted or held out to the public by him, and to deliver with reasonable diligence.</p> <p>2. Where an employee of an initial carrier of goods omits a material portion of the direction in a transfer waybill delivered to the connecting carrier, and the goods are delayed by reason of such negligence, the question whether the negligence of the initial carrier’s agent is the proximate cause of the injury, is a question for the jury, and this is especially the case where it appears that the initial carrier was given special instructions as to the method of consigning by the consignee because of the fact that mistakes and delays had occurred in the delivery of freight to him because of the similarity of names of the town where he conducted his business and a city in an adjoining state. In such a case the mistake of a connecting carrier caused by the preceding negligence of the initial carrier will not be pronounced by the court as a matter of law the proximate cause of the injury.</p> <p>3. Exemption in the contract of carriage from loss or damage beyond the line of the forwarder will not relieve the latter where such damage is brought about by his own negligent misdirection.</p> <p>4. Where a railroad company does not fix the rate and route at the station where it receives freight, but arranges to have this done by the next connecting carrier, when it delivers the freight to it, the railroad company will be responsible for any fault of the agent of the connecting company when acting in the railroad company’s behalf about the contract of shipment.</p> <p>5. Where a carrier is notified of an undue delay within thirty days after the property is delivered, and the company takes prompt action to inquire into the facts and to protect itself against imposition