Pensacola, St. Andrews & Gulf Steamship Co. v. Austin

Citations

• 63 Fla. 241

Syllabus

<p>In an action seeking to recover damages for personal injuries alleged to have been caused by the negligence of the defendant, where it is conclusively established by the evidence that the plaintiff, of her own volition- and for ■ her own convenience, went to the freight dock of the defendant steamship company, a most unusual place for ladies or passengers, or the public generally to go, for the purpose of receiving a package which the plaintiff’s mother had sent her by one of the employes of the defendant, who worked in the engine-room of the steamer and who brought such package not in his official capacity but merely as a friend, it not being billed to plaintiff and there being no charges of any kind thereon, and that while waiting on the dock for such employe the plaihtiff was struck and injured by a barrel of rosin falling through the open door of a box ear, a most unusual occurrence, while such car was being pushed forward in the usual way by some negro men, and the evidence fails to show any wantonness or wilfulness, or even gross negligence on the part of the defendant toward the plaintiff, who was then a trespasser, or at most a licensee, there could be no recovery, and it was error for the trial court to refuse to direct a verdict for the defendant.</p>