Rothe v. Pennsylvania Co.

Citations

• 195 F. 21
• 114 C.C.A. 627
• 1912 U.S. App. LEXIS 1333

Syllabus

<p>1. Railroads (§ 244*)—Crossing Accidents—Liability—Failure to Give Signals.</p> <p>Rev. St. Ohio, § 3337 (Gen. Code, § S856), which makes a railroad company liable for injury caused by neglect to give warnings of the approach of locomotives to highways, does not fix liability for injury to a traveler at a crossing unless failure to give the signals caused the injury; nor in case the traveler was guilty of contributory negligence</p> <p>[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Railroads, Cent. Dig. § 755; Dec. Dig. I 244.*]</p> <p>2. Railroads (§ 351*)—Crossing Accidents—Instructions.</p> <p>Under Rev. St. Ohio, §§ 3336, 3337 (Gen. Code, §§ 8S53, 8856), which require locomotive whistles to be sounded at least 8© and not more thar 100 rods from highway crossings, and make railroads liable for injury resulting from failure to do so, in an action for death of 'traveler at a street crossing,' it was error to refuse to instruct that if the engineer did not sound the whistle.' between 1,320 and 1,650 feet west of the sireet. etc., the company was negligent, and, if decedent was killed through failure to sound a whistle, plaintiff could recover unless decedent was guilty of contributory negligence, though an instruction that plaintiff claimed that omission to give the signal was negligent was given.</p> <p>[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Railroads, Cent. Dig. §§ 1193-1215; Dec. Dig. 1 351.*]</p> <p>3. Trial (§ 261*)—Instructions—Refusal.</p> <p>While a party may not complain of iiie refusal of a requested instruction which does not correctly state the law, the court being under no obligation to reframe a request so as to contain an accurate statement of law. where the meaning of a request is reasonably apparent, and its subject-matter is important and not sufficiently covered by the general charge, the request should not be ignored merely because susceptible to suc-h an interpretation as to make Its proposition not absolutely accurate.</p> <p>[Ed. Note.—For other cases, see Trial