Nestico v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
Nestico v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad
Opinion of the Court
This was an action brought by the plaintiff under the Eederal Employers’ Liability act to recover compensation for the death of Pasquale Nestico (who was her husband), who was killed while engaged in work as a track laborer of the defendant on July 8th, 1923, near Little Palis. The jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, and the defendant was allowed a rule.
The case of the plaintiff was that, while the .decedent was engaged in his work along the defendant company’s tracks, he was run down by an engine, to which no cars were attached, and that no warning of any kind was given to him of its approach, and that the defendant company did nothing to protect him against danger from it, although, apparently, it was not running on any schedule.
Next, it is argued that the verdict is excessive. The only ground upon which this contention is rested is that the jury, in fixing the amount of compensation, failed to perform the duty imposed on it by the Federal Employers’ Liability act of diminishing the damages to a reasonable extent where it appears that the accident was the result of the contributory negligence of the employe. We think the jury was under no obligation to reduce the damages for this reason, because there was no proof upon which to base a finding of negligence on the part of the decedent. As has already been stated, the decedent, apparently, had no notice whatever that this engine, which was running off schedule, was approaching him, and had no reason to anticipate its presence.
Next, it is argued that the trial court erred in refusing to charge the defendant’s ninth request. The plaintiff had offered in evidence the certificate of the bureau of vital statistics evidencing decedent’s death and the cause of it. The
Lastly, it is said that the court erred in directing the jury to disregard evidence submitted on behalf of the defendant as to tests made for the purpose of telling how far an engineer could see from the point where the tests were made to the point where the decedent was struck. This evidence, we think, was clearly immaterial, and the court properly directed the jury to disregard it. If the engineer, because of his inability to see, could not operate his engine in such a way as to avoid running down laborers upon the track, that certainly did not excuse the defendant from its obligation of protection.
The rule to show cause will be discharged.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.