Thomas v. Central Railroad

Citations

• 194 Pa. 511
• 45 A. 344
• 1900 Pa. LEXIS 427

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Proximate and remote cause.</p> <p>The test of proximate cause is whether the facts constitute a continuous succession of events so linked together that they become a natural whole, or whether the chain of events is so broken that they become independent, and the final result cannot be said to be the natural and probable consequence of the primary cause.</p> <p>Negligence — Railroads—■Flagman—Proximate cause — Improper signal— Parting of freight tram.</p> <p>In an action to recover damages for the death of a locomotive engineer, against a railroad company which owned the tracks upon which the deceased was running a train for another company by which he was employed, it appeared that, shortly before the deceased’s train came to the place of the accident, a flagman employed by the defendant company gave a signal to stop a long train of empty freight cars, and that by reason of this signal, the purpose of which was not explained, the engineer of Ihe coal train slopped, and the rear end of the train which had parted piled up upon the cars ahead, throwing them upon the adjacent track, and leading to a collision in which the deceased was killed. Held, that the question whether or not the signal was negligently given by the flagman, and whether or not it was the proximate cause of the accident, were questions for the jury.</p> <p>Neglige nee — Railroads.</p> <p>A railroad company cannot be charged with negligence in making up a long train of empty freight cars so that they parted and caused acollision, where there is no evidence that the train was not made up in the manner usual at that time, and the testimony of an engineer tends to show that the parting of long trains was one of the ordinary risks of the business against which ho was constantly required to guard.</p> <p>Tort — Release from liability.</p> <p>f A tort feasor is not released from liability by a settlement between the injured party and one not shown to be liable.</p> <p>Negligence — Pleading—