Davis v. Atlanta & Charlotte Air Line Ry. Co.
Davis v. Atlanta & Charlotte Air Line Ry. Co.
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the Court was delivered by
The plaintiff, Dula H. Davis, as administratrix, brought this action against the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Dine Railway Company for the alleged negligent killing of her husband, John W. Davis. There was evidence tending to prove that on 22d September, 1905, Davis was a passenger on defendant’s train between Easley and Beverly, having paid his fare to the latter place, which is a flag station; that on drawing near to Beverly the train blew the usual stop signal and slowed down, and that deceased went to the back platform and down on the steps in order to alight; that instead of stopping the train’s speed was quickened, and that thereupon deceased attempted either to re-enter the coach or to pass to the other side of the platform, when a sudden jerk of the cars threw him off and he sustained a fatal injury.
On the trial of the cause motions for a nonsuit and for a new trial were overruled by the presiding Judge. The five *68 grounds urged in favor of these motions present two questions for the consideration of this Court: (1) Was there any evidence of negligence of defendant which was a proximate cause of the injury? (2) Did the evidence admit of no other inference than that the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence?
The judgment of this Court is that the judgment of the Circuit Court be affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Davis v. Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Ry. Co.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Carrier — Passenger—Negligence—Proximate Cause. — That a train failed to stop at a station to which a passenger had paid his fare is evidence of negligence, and the presumption that injury to passenger was due to carrier’s negligence carries issue of proximate cause to the jury. 2. Ibid. — Ibid.—Contributory Negligence. — It is not contributory negligence per se for a passenger to go onto the platform of the car at his station, having reason to believe the train is going to stop there.