Sawdey v. Spokane Falls & Northern Railway Co.

Citations

• 30 Wash. 349
• 70 P. 972
• 1902 Wash. LEXIS 694

Syllabus

<p>RAILROADS-COLLECTION OF HOSPITAL DUES-TREATMENT OF EMPLOYEE — MALPRACTICE-GRATUITOUS TREATMENT — QUESTION FOR JURY.</p> <p>Where a railroad company made a practice of deducting a certain portion of the monthly wages of its employees for hospital dues and of taking care of sick or injured employees, irrespective of whether the illness was incurred in the regular course of employment, a question for the jury was presented as to whether treatment was gratuitous or by reason of contract relations, in the case of an employee who had been injured off the premises of the company after his day’s work was done, and had been treated by the company surgeon at its hospital.</p> <p>SAME-ESTOPPEL.</p> <p>A railroad company sued for malpractice of its surgeon in treating one of its employees is estopped to say that the service was gratuitous, because he was not injured during work hours, when it had taken plaintiff to its hospital and entered upon his treatment without informing him that it was extending a charity, instead of making a return for the hospital dues it had collected from him during the course of his past employment.</p> <p>INTEEEOGATOBIES-INTBODUOTION IN EVIDENCE-CONCLUSIVENESS OE ANSWEBS.</p> <p>A party who has propounded interrogatories to his adversary may put the answers in evidence without being bound by their statements against his interest, but, under Bal. Code, § 6012, he is entitled to contradict such answers by other evidence.</p> <p>MASTER AND SERVANT-INJURY OE EMPLOYEE — MALPRACTICE OE SURGEON — LIABILITY OE MASTER.</p> <p>If a railroad company contracts for a consideration to treat its employees for any injury they may receive while in its employ, it is liable for the malpractice of the surgeon employed therefor, notwithstanding it exercised due care in the selection of such surgeon (Richardson v. Carbon Hill Coal Co., 10 Wash. 648, distinguished) .</p> <p>SAME-SUEEICIENOY OE EVIDENCE-NONSUIT.</p> <p>In an action to recover damages for malpractice, th