St. Louis & Southeastern Railway Co. v. Britz

Citations

• 72 Ill. 256

Syllabus

<p>1. Master and servants—who cere eo-sei’mnts. The engineer, brakemen and shovelers employed on a construction train are all co-servants, engaged in the same branch of service, and a shoveler who is injured through the negligence of the engineer or brakemen can not recover from their common employer for such injury, if the employer has used due diligence in their selection.</p> <p>2. Same—servant cannot recover against master for injuries sustained through defective machinery. Where an employee, after having the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the risks of his situation, accepts them, he can not complain if he is subsequently injured by such exposures; hence, an employee on a construction train, who is aware that the brakes on the cars are defective, or who has had an opportunity to know it, and still continues in such employment, can not recover, in a suit against his employer, for injuries sustained by reason of such defective brakes.</p> <p>3. Negligence—plaintiff guilty can not recover, unless his is slight and defendant's gross'. Although the defendant’s negligence may have been the prime cause of the injury to the plaintiff, yet, if the plaintiff, by the exercise of due care, might have avoided receiving the injury, and his negligence is slight and that of defendant gross, when compared with each other, the plaintiff can not recover.</p> <p>4. Verdict—when general and special are not reconcilable. When the general verdict of the jury is inconsistent, and not reconcilable with the facts specially found in reply to questions propounded to them by the court for special finding, the general verdict should be set aside.</p> <p>5. Instruction—must state all facts necessary to be proved. An instruction which assumes to be, in itself, a complete statement of a case which, under the law, entitles a party to recover, must state fully all that need be proved, so that, if there were no other evidence, there could be no question as to the rights of the parties.</p