Baltimore & Ohio Railroad v. Onorato
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad v. Onorato
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the Court:
In the brief of counsel for appellant it is conceded that there was sufficient evidence in the record to support the allegation in the declaration that the roundhouse in question was in a defective condition, and that its collapse may have been brought about by such condition. It is contended, however, in the first assignment of error, that the evidence shows conclusively that this defective condition was as manifest to the appellee as to any of the witnesses who testified in his behalf, and hence that he must be regarded as having assumed the risks incident to the situation. "We are unable to agree with appellant in this contention. That this is a question about which reasonable minds might differ is conclusively settled by an inspection of the record. The foreman of this roundhouse, who had been employed there for several years, and several other of defendant’s .witnesses, testified, as above noted, that there was no apparent defect in the building. The finding of the jury, of course, establishes appellee’s contention that there was a defect in the building, and that it was of such a nature that appellant, with reasonable diligence, should have discovered it. That finding falls short of supporting appellant’s present contention that the defects were so clearly apparent that appellee assumed the risks flowing from them. There is no evidence in the record that appellee, during the month of his employment, had seen one of the uprights knocked out of position, or that he knew that the anchor .bolts had not been replaced. The ordinary workman would
It is next contended that the court erred in refusing the appellant’s prayer to the effect that, if, from all the evidence, the jury should find the defects existing in the roundhouse at the time of the accident “were all plainly manifest and visible to the plaintiff, who continued nevertheless to work in said roundhouse, then the plaintiff must be regarded as having assumed the risks incident to his employment.” The court on this branch of the case instructed the jury as follows: “The proposition that the negligence of the railroad company must liave directly occasioned the injury to the plaintiff involves another consideration, and that is this: That, if they were both negligent, — that is to say, if the railroad company was negligent in not maintaining a proper building, and if the plaintiff was negligent in working in a place that , a man of reasonáble prudence and caution would not have worked in, — then the negligence of both would have contributed to the injury, and he could not recover; because he would then be as much at fault as the railroad company. You would determine that question by considering the nature of the building, by determining whether there were any defects in it which rendered it dangerous, and whether or not the danger was either actually known to this plaintiff, or was so open and plain and patent that it showed itself to anybody who worked in the building. If it Avas so open and plain as that, providing defects existed, so that he must have knoAvn it from working there, then he took the chances in working there, and could not recover if the building fell down.” This was a substantial compliance with appellant’s request, and constituted a correct statement of law. .
The refusal of the court to grant the following prayer con- '
Finding no error in the record, the judgment is affirmed, with costs. . Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- BALTIMORE & OHIO RAILROAD COMPANY v. ONORATO
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Master and Servant; Railroads; Negligence; Trial; Instructions to Jury. 1. In an action against a railroad company by an engine cleaner employed for a month by the company in its roundhouse, to recover for personal injuries caused by the collapse of a part of the roundhouse during a storm, it is a question for the jury, whether the plaintiff knew, or was chargeable with knowledge, of the defective condition of the structure, which is admitted by the defendant, and assumed the risk incident to his employment therein, where the foreman of the defendant, who had been employed in. the building for several years, and other of the defendant’s witnesses, testify that there was no apparent defect in it; and there is no testimony to show that the plaintiff had actual knowledge of certain defects which the evidence shows to have existed, and the evidence is conflicting as to whether the storm was an unusual one. 2. It is not error for the trial court to refuse a special instruction asked, where it substantially complies with the request in another instruction which correctly states the law. 3. Refusal by the trial court in a personal injury case, to grant an instruction asked by the defendant, to the effect that the mere fact the plaintiff was injured does not entitle him to a verdict, and creates no presumption of negligence on the part of the defendant, is not error, where the court charges the jury that, to find for the plaintiff, they must affirmatively find negligence on the part of the defendant, which was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injury.