Pennsylvania R. v. Zink

Citations

• 126 Pa. 288
• 17 A. 614
• 1889 Pa. LEXIS 871

Syllabus

<p>(a) In an action by a widow to recover damages for the death of her husband, it appeared that decedent, who had been a brakeman in defendant’s yards for several years, was directed to take a train of platform oars loaded with lumber and pushed by an engine in the rear, up to some other cars on a siding 800 yards distant, the siding being straight and up grade.</p> <p>(b) Decedent put his left foot into the iron stirrup at the right hand side of the.front end of the front car, his right foot on the bumper, and one of his arms over the side of the box of the car, to hold himsolf on, and rode in that position until the front car became derailed, and the front end of it, veering to the right, caught him between a board pile and the car and so injured him that he died.</p> <p>(o) This board pile was one of a series quite close together, beginning about 20 feet from where decedent took charge of the train, and at a distance from the side of the car variously estimated at from 20 to 40 inches. The derailment was alleged to have been due to rotten ties, but this was disputed. Decedent could have ridden on the bumper of the car, which did not strike the board pile. There was evidence that decedent could not use the brake or signal the engineer from where he was riding.</p> <p>1. Upon the foregoing facts, the court below properly refused to charge that decedent was guilty of contributory negligence, in taking the position on the car above described, and properly submitted the question of defendant’s negligence and decedent’s-contributory negligence under all the evidence to the jury.</p>