Lynn v. Illinois Central Railroad
Lynn v. Illinois Central Railroad
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
The demurrer is to the whole declaration, and if either count is good, the demurrer should have been overruled. The demurrer is general, and, under § 1560 of the code, no defect or imperfection in the declaration is to be considered, unless something so essential to the action is omitted that judgment according to law could not be rendered for the plaintiff.
It may be true, as insisted by appellee, that if the deceased was a minor, eighteen years of age, he took upon himself the natural and ordinary risks of the service in which he w'as engaged, and that the liability of the employer for injuries to such minor would be the same, if any, as to an adult under like circumstances. Beach on Contributory Neg. 359, 360.
But the age of eighteen is ascribed to the minor in only one count of the declaration; in the other he is described as being a minor of tender years. There is no express reference in one count to the other on this point, and it does not appear in either count that the injuries complained of resulted from perils incident to the employment, but rather from the negligence and carelessness of appellee, and its employees not shown to be fellow-servants of the minor in a common employment.
The demurrer should have been overruled. The judgment is reversed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Rose Lynn v. Illinois Central Railroad Company
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- 1 case
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- Syllabus
- Railroad Company. Action against for death of minor. Pleading and practice. A declaration, filed by the parent, for damages resulting from the death of a minor son from injuries received while in the employ of a railroad company, contained two counts, one of which referred to the minor, as being eighteen years of age, and the other as being of tender years. ‘The railroad company filed a general demurrer to the declaration, and contended that, as the minor was eighteen years old, and had taken upon himself the risks of the service in which he was engaged, the company was not liable for the injury complained of. But neither count refers to the other as to the averment of the minor’s age; nor does it appear in either that the alleged injury resulted from perils incident to the employment, but rather from the negligence of the company, and its employees not shown to be fellow-servants of the minor in a common employment. Held, that the demurrer, being to the whole declaration and being general, should have been overruled, under ji 1560 of the Code of 1880.