Stevenson v. Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co.
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Stevenson v. Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co., 219 Pa. 626 (Pa. 1908)
69 A. 45; 1908 Pa. LEXIS 637
Brown, Elkin, Fell, MacFarlane, Mestrezat, Mitchell, Potter, Stewart
Stevenson v. Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff, coming to the stairway leading to tho station, found a hand rail plainly intended for the convenience and safety of persons descending. He recognized the purpose and the usefulness of the rail by taking hold of it at first, but then, finding his glove caught in some projecting points or knobs on the rail, he let go of it and took the middle of the steps although he knew they were slippery with ice. Thus, to avoid what was, at most, an inconvenience, he voluntarily encountered a manifest danger. He thus took upon himself the risk.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Stevenson v. Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway Company
- Cited By
- 9 cases
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- Published
- Syllabus
- Negligence — Railroads—Station—Slippery steps — Hand rail — Contributory negligence. In an action against a railroad company to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by falling on slippery steps descending to a railroad station, the plaintiff is not entitled to recover where the evidence shows that the defendant company had provided a hand rail along the steps for the convenience and safety of the public, that the plaintiff had at first used this hand rail, but because his glove had caught on some knobs or projections on the rail, he took the middle of the steps, although he knew of their slippery condition, and fell and was injured.