Northern Pacific Railroad v. Babcock

Citations

• 154 U.S. 190
• 14 S. Ct. 978
• 38 L. Ed. 958
• 1894 U.S. LEXIS 2228

Syllabus

<p>In an action by the representatives of a railroad employé against the company, to recover damages for the death of the employé, caused by an accident while in its employ, which is tried in a different State from that in which the contract of employment was made and in which the accident took place, the right to recover and the limit of the amount of the judgment are governed by the lex loci, and not by the lex fori.</p> <p>A railroad company is bound to furnish sound machinery for the use of its employés, and if one of them is killed in an accident caused by a defective snow-plough, the right of his representative to recover damages therefor is not affected by the fact that some two weeks before he was sent out with the defective machinery, he had discovered the defect, and had notified the master mechanic of it, and the latter had undertaken to have it repaired.</p> <p>Some alleged errors in the charge of the court below are examined and held to have no merit.</p>