Wiemann v. Jackman Railway Co.

Citations

• 57 Wash. 682
• 107 P. 844
• 1910 Wash. LEXIS 821

Syllabus

<p>Master and Servant — Negligence of Master — Question for Jurt. The negligence of the defendants in sending a roller coaster car up an incline while an employee was working on the track, is for the jury, where there was evidence tending to show that the plaintiff was set to work there by the manager, who promised to take care of him while at work, but .sent up a car contrary to custom, which was a very dangerous proceeding.</p> <p>Same — Contributory Negligence — Evidence—Sufficiency. An employee knocked from a roller coaster track by a car is not guilty of negligence contributing to his injury, by reason of having taken a position with his back to the car, when he could not have seen the car in time to have escaped the injury if he had been facing it.</p> <p>Same. In an action for injuries to an employee working upon a roller coaster track by being struck by a car, evidence that the attachment of a car to the chain would have given notice to one working on the chain does not show contributory negligence in not heeding the notice, where it does not appear that plaintiff had commenced work on the chain when the car was attached.</p> <p>Same — Proximate Cause. Upon the question of the contributory negligence of an employee knocked from a roller coaster track by a car, it is immaterial that he exposed himself to the danger of having his clothes caught on the chain, that not being the cause of the injury.</p> <p>Trial — Instructions—Issues—Harmless Error. A technically erroneous instruction purporting to state the issues, and dlluding to the plaintiff’s expectancy of life as if alleged in the complaint (which only alleged his age), does not require a reversal where it did not state what the life expectancy actually was.</p> <p>Trial — Instructions—Evidence—Burden of Proof. Where there are correct general instructions as to the burden of proof and the preponderance of the evidence, it is not error to precede other instructions by the introductory clause, “If you find f