Henderson v. American Lumber Co.
Henderson v. American Lumber Co.
Opinion of the Court
Next, plaintiff charges that the track was defective. The evidence shows the contrary.
The evidence fails to show that the defendant company was guilty of negligence in any particular. The manner of the accident was this: As the train was going down a long curved incline at great speed, one of the logs above the toggle chain fell off; the front end went out first, and struck a stump, and this caused the other end to slide along the top of the load, and, as we understand, along the top of the succeeding cars, scraping off like flies those of the men who could not get out of the way in time. The sole and only cause of the accident would seem to have been this log falling off. And the falling off of this log is not sought by plaintiff to be attributed to defective loading, but to the high rate of speed at which the train was moving,' combined with the poor condition of the road.
The track was in good condition. The speed of the train was unavoidable in view of the absence of brakes on the cars, and the weight of the train, consisting of 18 loaded cars, going downgrade. The train was being operated as usual.
In Alexander v. Davis Brothers Lumber Co., 124 La. 1, 49 South. 724, this court said:
“The servant assumes the ordinary risks incident to his employment, and those of which he has actual knowledge, and he is chargeable with knowledge of risks which are obvious apd of those of which he might acquire actual knowledge by the use of ordinary care; due allowance being made for youth, inexperience, and lack of intelligence.”
In Price v. Lee Lumber Co., 125 La. 888, 51 South. 1025, this court said:
“An able-bodied young man, nearly 20 years of age, having had more than 3 years’ experience in logging business, and having, at his own request, been given work, as switchman in a ‘loading crew,’ * * * which required him to aid in the arranging and securing of logs loaded-on logging cars, and which the danger to be apprehended from the accidental rolling off of the logs was as apparent to him as to any one else, must be considered to have assumed the risk of such an accident, and cannot recover for injuries thereby sustained.”
In Ramsey v. Tremont Lumber Co., 121 La. 506, 46 South. 608, the court said:
“Where the danger is manifest, and incident to the work, and the employé is of sufficient age and intelligence to appreciate the risk, the employer is not required to give any special warning, as, for instance, that the hands or the clothing of the employs may get caught in the moving machinery at which he is employed.”
In Moffett v. Koch, 106 La. 371, 31 South. 40, the court said:
“Where an employé is not placed by the employer in a position of undisclosed danger, but is a mature man, doing the ordinary work which he was engaged to do, and whose risks are obvious to any one, he assumes the risks of the employment, and no negligence can be imputed to the employer for an accident to him therefrom.”
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- HENDERSON v. AMERICAN LUMBER CO.
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- (Syllabus by Bditorial Staff.) 1.Master and Servant &wkey;>236 — Injuries to Servant — Recovery. A servant injured in riding on a logging train, which he knew to be dangerous, cannot establish a right to recovery by showing that other trains intended for servants’ use were as dangerous as the logging train. [Ed. Note. — Eor other cases, see Master and Servant, Cent. Dig. §§ 681, 723-742; Dec. Dig. &wkey;236.] 2. Master and Servant A servant injured in riding on a logging train cannot predicate negligence of the master on the fact that but one toggle was used instead of two, where custom and usage establish that the use of one toggle is a safer method than the use of two. [Ed. Note. — Eor other cases, see Master and Servant, Cent. Dig. §§ 215-217, 255; Dec. Dig. lll.] 3. Master and Servant Negligence of the master cannot be predicated on the absence of brakes from a logging-train where the evidence shows that brakes on such trains are unusual. [Ed. Note. — Por other cases, see Master and Servant, Cent, Dig. §§ 215-217, 255; Dec. Dig. &wkey;>lll.] 4. Master and Servant Evidence in a logger’s action for injuries received in riding on a logging train after warning held to show that his injury resulted from the assumed risk of displacement of a log loosely laid on top of the load, and not from the master’s negligence. [Ed. Note. — Por other cases, see Master and Servant, Cent. Dig. §§ 981-986; Dec. Dig. 280.]