Toledo, Wabash & Western Railway Co. v. Ingraham

Citations

• 77 Ill. 309

Syllabus

<p>1. Instruction—must refer to the evidence fafr the facts. It would be clearly erroneous to instruct the jury in such a manner that they would be at liberty to believe certain facts, important to a proper decision of the cause, from any source other than the evidence.</p> <p>% But where a jury are instructed, if certain facts are true, provided they further believe, from the evidence, certain other facts exist, they should find, etc., a jury of ordinary intelligence will understand that they must believe the facts first enumerated from the evidence, as well as those last mentioned.</p> <p>3. Same — when correct as a series. It is the duty of the jury to consider all the instructions together; and when this court can see that an instruction in the series, although not stating the law correctly, is qualified by others, so that the jury were not likely to have been misled, the error will be obviated.</p> <p>4. Same—must not he broader t7ian t7ie evidence. In a suit by a brake, man to recover damages for a personal injury, sustained while in the discharge of his duty as a servant, in consequence of a defective ladder on a freight car, the court refused to instruct the jury, for the company, that. it. -was the duty of the plaintiff to have noticed any visible defect in the ladder, and to have reported it to the company; and if there was a visible (lefec.1 in the ladder, and the plaintiff failed to report it. to the company, lie could not recover on account of such defect. The evidence failed to show that the defect, was visible, or that the plaintiff ever saw the car before the day of the accident: Held, that there was no error in the refusal, as there was no evidence to justify giving the same.</p> <p>5. Master and servant—injury to the latter—liability of the master. Where a brakeman of a railway company is injured while in the service of the company, in consequence of a defective ladder, which, giving way, caused him to fall, etc., the company will not be liable to