Carson v. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co.
Carson v. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
Was the evidence sufficient to carry to the jury the issue as to whether Haskell was authorized to engage the services of Armstrong to treat Watson, empower Armstrong to engage plaintiff’s service, and to incur expenses for the care of these patients? Haskell was shown to have been in charge of the improvements being made along defendant’s line of railroad between Green Island and Oxford Junction. Wood, the district engineer, acting for defendant, had employed him, and Wood testified that the extent of Haskell’s authority was to see that the grade work being performed by contractors was properly done, and that he was in direct charge of the concrete construction of bridges and culverts, with authority to employ and discharge the men engaged in such construction. The witness testified further that:
“As regards his authority as assistant engineer, with reference to the employment of physicians he had no authority aside from a list of physicians. He was given a list of the company’s physicians along the line, and he was to call on them if any of the men were injured or sick while working on- the company’s work. He was expected to call the company’s physician when an employe was injured while engaged in the work of the company, and that was the extent of Mr. Haskell’s authority. * * * I would say the*313 order was to go to the nearest physician in emergency cases. * * * In case Mr. Haskell couldn’t find, at the place he desired, a regularly retained physician of the railway company, what would he do in such an emergency? A. I suppose just like anyone else would. I say he only had authority to go to the railroad company’s physician. He hadn’t authority to go to anyone else. By the Court: Q. I take it that there were a number of emergency cases where par ties had been personally injured, under your supervision, and required immediate attention from some doctor. Now what is the usual custom of the road in cases where the injured party requires immediate attention, and a railroad doctor is not within reach? Do you allow them to die, oído you send them to some doctor that can be reached? A. All such cases are handled by the superintendent.' The usual custom was to get them to a doctor as quick as possible. Q. And if the doctor of the company cannot be reached you will find some doctor; isn’t that the case? A. Certainly; yes, sir.”
The witness then explained that the authority to employ physicians was limited to employees who became sick or were injured while in the line of duty or service of the company. Neither plaintiff nor Armstrong had been employed as company’s physician, but the evidence tended to show that employees injured while at work were taken to physicians other than the company’s when the latter were absent, and that the defendant uniformly paid for the services by them rendered. The company’s regularly employed surgeon was absent when Armstrong was engaged, and, without reviewing the evidence, we are of opinion that it was sufficient to have warranted the jury in finding that Haskell had authority to engage Armstrong’s services, had Watson been injured while in the line of employment. Surely, ratification of his action in repeatedly taking em
“He called up Haskell at Delmar Junction, who asked him for me. I talked direct to Haskell, and I told him how bad the man was hurt. He asked me if I couldn’t get him to the Clinton hospital, and I informed him that the train had gone, and that the roads were so muddy it was impossible to take him in an automobile. He asked me the nearest place we could take him, and I told him the only place we could get him would be Maquoketa. He ordered me to take him to Maquoketa and give him the very best attention, and he says, ‘If you can’t go along with him, why go as far as Delmar, and I will send the doctor from there with him to Maquoketa.’ That was all that was said at that time, and in order to make myself safe, then, in about twenty minutes I called him up again, and he repeated the same story. So then I proceeded to bring him to the hospital.”
We need not stop to ascertain whether this conversation conferred authority on Armstrong to employ plaintiff to
The board of directors of a railroad company, strictly speaking, is its agent and representative, but, in a practical sense, sueh board in its relations to the public is the corporation itself. Unless conferred by the articles of incorporation, all authority to act for the corporation must emanate from the board of directors, and before it can be bound by contracts of agents, officers or employees, it must be made .to appear that power to enter therein has been conferred on such agent, officers or employees by said articles, or given by the board of directors or governing bodv, either expressly, impliedly or by ratification. Having designated agents, however, the corporation will be bound by whatever they may do or omit to do within the scope of their employment. Many courts have held that the extent of the agent’s authority is often to be implied from the title of his position; for that such title, as general manager, general superintendent, or general agent, indicates large discretionary powers or authority as to the manner of carrying on the business of the company or the department thereof. See Louisville, E. & St. L. R. Co. v. McVay, 98 Ind. 391 (49 Am. Rep. 770); Atlantic & Pac. R. C. v. Reisner, 18 Kan. 458; Toledo, W. & W. R. Co. v. Rodrigues, 47 Ill. 188 (95 Am. Dec. 484); Bedford Belt R. Co. v. McDonald, 17 Ind. App. 492 (60 Am. St. 172). See, also, Cushman v. Cloverland
But there is nothing in the designation “assistant engineer” warranting the inference of large discretionary powers in representing the company. Indeed, the name suggests limited, rather than general, powers. The circumstance of being “assistant” imports subordination to another, and puts all on inquiry as to the scope of his activity in helping another or others. The duties of an assistant ordinarily are circumscribed. Authority to employ a physician is not to be inferred from the mere fact that an employee is roadmaster (City of Lafayette v. James, 92 Ind. 240 [47 Am. Rep. 140]), or is a conductor (Tucker v. St. Louis, K. C. & N. R. Co., 54 Mo. 177), or is a foreman (Rankin v. New England and Nevada Silver Mining Co., 4 Nev. 78), or is a yardmaster (Marquette & O. R. Co. v. Taft, 28 Mich. 289), or is a station master (Cox v. Midland R. Co., 3 Welsby, H. & G. [Ex. R.] 268), or is a general surgeon (Smith v. Chicago & N. W. R. Co., 104 Iowa 147). One court has held that this is true also of a division superintendent (Brown v. Missouri, K. & T. R. Co., 67 Mo. 122), but as to this there is some conflict in the authorities. See Union P. R. Co. v. Winterbotham, 52 Kan. 433 (34 Pac. 1052). See note to The Kenilworth, 4 L. R. A. (N. S.) 58, in which the authorities are collected; 1 Elliott on Eailroads, Section 222.
The motion for new trial should have been sustained on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the verdict. — Reversed.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). — I agree that the evidence is not sufficient to justify the finding of the jury as to the Zania item of $25. The substance of the evidence is that the doctor had, prior to the services he performed for Zania, done work for injured employees of the company sent him by Haskell; and the argument is that he had a right to presume, from this usual course, that he was performing this service for the company. But this assumes - that the patient Zania was sent by Mr. Haskell, but I think the evidence is not sufficient to show that fact. The doctor testifies, over objection, that he had a book account of the charge for the Zania treatment, and that he had charged it to the defendant. But this charge of itself would amount to nothing unless the company, or someone authorized, or ostensibly authorized, employed the doctor.
I dissent, however, from the holding of the majority as to the patient Watson. I think there is other evidence in the record that has a bearing, but I shall not take the time to set it out. It seems to me that the evidence was sufficient to take the case to the jury, as to the Watson items, on the question as to whether Haskell had been clothed by the defendant with apparent or ostensible authority, and to show that plaintiff, in good faith, relied thereon, and was misled.
I would affirm on condition that appellee file a remittitur for the Zania charge.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.