Illinois Central Railroad v. Nowicki

Citations

• 148 Ill. 29
• 35 N.E. 358

Syllabus

<p>1. Negligence—due care. In suits for personal injuries, caused by the negligence of the defendant, the plaintiff must allege and prove that he was at the time in the exercise of due care; and where the action is for causing the death of the plaintiff’s intestate, the burthen is upon the administrator to show that the deceased exercised ordinary care to avoid the injury.</p> <p>2. In an action against a railway company for causing the death of ; another, the plaintiff is not bound to show, by direct evidence, that the deceased was free from negligence; and where there was no eye-witness to the killing, the fact the deceased exercised ordinary care for his personal safety at the time of the injury may be shown by circumstantial .evidence, or proof of facts and circumstances from which that fact may be reasonably inferred. It is not necessary that the absence of contributory negligence shall be shown beyond cavil or question.</p> <p>3. In such case, proof that the deceased was a sober, industrious man, possessed of all his faculties, also tends to prove that he was, at the time of the accident, in the exercise of proper care. In the absence of direct proof the jury may infer ordinary care and diligence on the part of the deceased from all the circumstances of the case, his character and habits, and the natural instincts of self-preservation. It may also be shown that the deceased, at the time of the injury, was sober, and on his proper way home, and was at a place where he had a right to be, in connection with proof of the negligence of the defendant.</p> <p>4. Same—prima facie case. The rule requiring the plaintiff to prove care on the part of the person injured, only requires evidence of the facts and circumstances attending the injury, and if these show negligence in the defendant, from which the injury followed as a direct and proximate consequence, and do not show any contributory negligence on the part of the person killed or injured, a prima facie case for th