Illinois Cent. R. v. Atkinson

Citations

• 113 Miss. 678
• 74 So. 616

Syllabus

<p>1. CabkieRS. Injury to live stoclc. Notice. Sufficiency.</p> <p>A provision in a carrier’s bill of lading requiring notices of injury to live stock to be filed, verified by affidavit, within ten days after the injuries occurred, is substantially complied With by an unverified letter, where the carrier did not on receipt of such letter, insist on the claim being verified before the expiration of the ten days.</p> <p>2. CarRieks. Injury to live stock. Sufficiency of evidence.</p> <p>Where cattle were in good condition when delivered to the carrier, and when received, some of the animals were dead and others injured, the carrier has the burden of showing that the injuries were not caused by its negligence, and to escape liability must account for its handling of the cattle during all the time they were in its .charge.</p> <p>3. Same.</p> <p>But this burden is met when the carrier shows by positive evidence that the cattle were properly handled while-in transit, except when the car of cattle was placed on a side track at one of its stations, where it remained from 11:30 P. M. until the following morning about 4:20 A. M., and its employee at this station, whose duty it was to handle this car after it was placed upon the side track, testified that under the rules and regulations of the company, no other person had the right to enter upon this particular track and move or deal with this particular car of cattle except himself; that the employees of the carrier did not handle such cars except when instructed by the company and that no employee other than himself would have undertaken to move or disturb the ear where it was placed.</p> <p>4. Carriers. Injury to live stock. Extent of duty.</p> <p>The law does not require a carrier to keep some person present to watch a car to see that it is not injured or moved, nor does it require a large railroad corporation to produce all of its employees who work on a yard to show that each particular employee did not in fact run into