Sage v. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad

Citations

• 219 Pa. 129
• 67 A. 985
• 1907 Pa. LEXIS 614

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Railroads—Master and servant — Locomotive engineer— Locomotive cleaner — Fellow servant.</p> <p>A locomotive engineer is a fellow servant of a locomotive cleaner, and if the latter is injured by the iron door in front of the locomotive falling upon him, and the accident is due to the absence of pins or bolts from the hinges on which the door was intended to swing, he cannot recover from the railroad company for his injuries, if it appears that the engineer in charge of the locomotive had knowledge of the absence of the pins, and had failed to make a written report to the company of such fact, which he was required to do under the rules of the company, and which he had done on former occasions.</p> <p>If a master employs competent and skillful persons for the purpose of inspection, and affords them reasonable opportunity and facilities for the work under proper instructions, the master will not ordinarily be liable for the negligent performance of the work by such persons, to a fellow employee, unless the master knows, or by ordinary diligence ought to have known of the defective manner in which the inspection was conducted.</p> <p>When the employee’s duty to inspect or repair the apparatus, is incidental to his duty to use the apparatus in the common employment, he is not intrusted with the master’s duty to his fellow servant, and the master is not responsible to his fellow servant for his default.</p>