Missouri Pacific R'y Co. v. Weisen
Missouri Pacific R'y Co. v. Weisen
Opinion of the Court
The court below found, as a fact, that after the servants of appellant discovered the danger to
We think the court below could assume, without the aid of testimony, that appellee would not have been so seriously injured if the train had been moving more slowly when it came in contact with him. But, in the absence of a statement of facts, we cannot say that the record sustains appellant’s counsel in assuming that there was no testimony to this effect.
Kor is the period of three seconds necessarily too short a time to impose upon appellant a duty, and to require its performance. Instinctively and impulsively, a human agent, not negligent, would have done what was required to prevent the threatened injury. The court found, as a fact, in effect, that three seconds was time in which the engineer could comprehend the necessity of action and could act. Without a statement of facts, we cannot hold this finding wrong, merely because we know that three seconds is a very brief space.
We do not think there is any error disclosed, and the judgment is therefore affirmed.
Affirmed.
[Opinion delivered February 9, 1886.]
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Missouri Pacific R'y Co. v. Rudolph Weisen
- Cited By
- 21 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- 1. Railroads—Collision—Trespasser on track—Negligence—Proximate cause— Although a person injured whilst walking upon the track of a railway company, by collision with a passing train of cars, may, at the time, have been wrongfully on the track, or, being rightly there, may have negligently remained upon it 1 until too late to avoid the collision, nevertheless, if the company’s servants managing the train discovered the danger to which such person’s wrong or negligence was exposing him, in time to prevent the accident or at least to greatly lessen the injury, by the exercise of ordinary care and diligence on their part, but negligently failed to do so, the company is liable in damages. The negligence of the company in failing to stop or sufficiently slacken the train when the danger was discovered, and not the trespass or the negligence of the injured person, was the proximate cause of the injury. (Citing 1 Thomp. on Neg. 448, and S. & R. on Neg., sec. 25.)