Lewis v. Vicksburg, S. & P. Ry. Co.

Citations

• 114 La. 161
• 38 So. 92
• 1905 La. LEXIS 434

Syllabus

<p>MASTER AND SERVANT — INJURY TO EMPLOYÉ — ■ CONTRIBUTORY NEGLIGENCE.</p> <p>1. Where a railroad company is operating its cars -within the limits of its own yard, it is not bound at all times and under all circumstances to maintain a lookout upon the forward end of every car that is moved. The question of precaution is one of reasonable sufficiency, and, •when the precaution taken is sufficient to guard against injury to any one save a person who does inadvertently that which he would otherwise do only with the intention of committing suicide, it cannot reasonably be said that such precaution is insufficient.</p> <p>2. Conceding that it would have been safer for the company to have maintained a lookout, literally, from the front end instead of from the side of the car, it is extremely doubtful whether such precaution would have availed to save the employé, who walked on the track immediately in front of the car, from being injured, since the lookout might at the moment have been directing his attention to the other side, or he might not, from the mere fact that he saw a person _ walking toward the track, have realized, until too late, that such person was oblivious of the existence and approach of the car.</p> <p>3. In any event, when reasonable precautions-have been taken by it, the failure of a railroad company, operating its cars within the limits of its own yard, to take every precaution that might be required in a public and frequented thoroughfare, is slight negligence in comparison to the later negligence of an employe in the yard, the conditions of whose employment require that he should at all times be on the lookout, within those limits, for moving cars, but who walks immediately in front of a moving train; and this later negligence must,_ under such circumstances, be held to be the proximate cause of his being injured.</p> <p>(Syllabus by the Court.)</p>