Smith v. Spokane Falls & Northern Railway Co.

Citations

• 52 Wash. 350
• 100 P. 747
• 1909 Wash. LEXIS 1119

Syllabus

<p>Master and Servant — Obstructions Near Railroad Track — Contributory Negligence — Question for Jury. The foreman of a wrecking crew in charge of a large number of laborers being transported in box cars, charged with the duty of looking after their safety, is not guilty of contributory negligence, as a matter of law, in looking out of the side of the car to discover the cause of an alarm and the swaying of the cars indicating danger ahead, whereby he was struck by a coal chute of which he had no knowledge and which was negligently constructed nine inches nearer to the tracks than the ordinary minimum distance, the side doors of the cars being the only way of egress; as his judgment in such case cannot be too closely scanned. (Gose and Mount, JJ., dissenting).</p> <p>Same — Obstructions Near Track — Proximate Cause of Injury. The maintenance of a coal chute dangerously near a railroad track is the proximate cause of an injury to one who, in the line of his duty, has occasion to look out the side door of a box car.</p>