Erickson v. Lehigh Valley Railroad
Erickson v. Lehigh Valley Railroad
Opinion of the Court
This action was brought by the plaintiff to recover compensation from the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company for injuries sustained by him while engaged in its service as one of its employes. It is admitted that, if liability exists, the suit is properly brought under the Federal Employers’ Liability act. The trial resulted in a verdict in favor of the plaintiff, and the defendant company has appealed from the judgment entered thereon.
The plaintiff was employed as an assistant to one Larkin to operate, at night, a crane used for coaling engines. The doing of this work necessitated the moving of the crane upon the tracks, from place to place, quite frequently. The plaintiff, while engaged in his work on the night of January 14th, 1935, left the crane for a few minutes for the purpose of getting a can of water, and there was proof that Larkin, who was then in charge of the crane, knew of this fact. On plaintiff’s return, and as he was attempting to get upon the crane, Larkin suddenly moved it backward, without warning, thereby throwing the plaintiff to the ground and causing the injuries for which he sued.
The only ground upon which we are asked to reverse the judgment under review is that the trial court erroneously refused to direct a verdict for the defendant. The motion for such direction was rested upon two grounds—first, that there was no evidence of negligence chargeable to the defendant, or that such negligence was the proximate cause of the accident; and, second, that the plaintiff assumed the risk of the injury which resulted from the accident. We think the refusal to direct a verdict was proper.
As to the claim that the plaintiff assumed the risks: We consider this contention also to be without substance. An employe assumes the risks which are incident to the work in which he is engaged; but, under the federal statute, he does not assume risks that arise solely out of the negligent acts of fellow-servants.
Our conclusion is that the judgment under review should be affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JOHN ERICKSON v. LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD COMPANY
- Status
- Published