White v. Peoples Railway Co.

Citations

• 22 Del. 476
• 6 Penne. 476
• 72 A. 1059
• 1907 Del. LEXIS 57

Syllabus

<p>Personal Injuries—Statute—Branch of Railway Track—Deposit and Survey—Independent Contractor; Negligence of—Liability of Company—Contributory Negligence—■ Damages.</p> <p>1. The provision of the general corporation law requiring a deposit with the State Treasurer, and the filing of a survey with the Secretary of State, where a railway company builds a branch of its main line, does not apply when that which was done was the straightening of a loop in the track, and not the making of a branch.</p> <p>2. When a railway company constructs its line on a public highway of the city by virtue of the license or franchise which had been granted to the company, it has a right to construct such railway by its own immediate employees, or to let it out to contractors to construct for them,— leaving such contractors to employ their own servants and take their own methods in the execution of the work.</p> <p>3. But such construction of the railway is the exercise of a vital part of the company’s franchise, and even if the work is done by such a contractor in the employ of the company, whether he be called an independent contractor or otherwise the company would be liable for injuries resulting from the negligence of such contractor and any and all of his servants and employees.</p> <p>4. The law will not permit the company to shield itself from liability for such negligence behind any such alleged independent contractor. In such work, in law, he would be the agent of the company.</p> <p>5. In the lawful use of the streets of a city a pesdestrian is not bound to hunt for latent obstructions or dangers. He may fairly presume that they are in a reasonably safe condition for use, in the absence of any knowledge to the contrary. If, however, he knows of the existence of the danger, or under the circumstances ought to know of it, and with such knowledge voluntarily runs into the danger, he assumes all the risk of such conduct.</p>