Pittsburgh & L. E. R. v. Wiegel
Pittsburgh & L. E. R. v. Wiegel
Opinion of the Court
In the court below suit was brought by the defendants in error, Louis Wiegel and Sarah Jane Wiegel, his wife (hereinafter called the plaintiffs), against the plaintiff in error (hereinafter called the defendant), to recover damages for personal injuries to the wife alleged to have been the result of the negligence of the defendant corporation.
The statement of claim, after the usual averment of diverse citizenship, avers that the defendant was, as a common carrier, hound to exercise due care to prevent injuries to its passengers when boarding or alighting from its cars or vehicles; that the plaintiff, Mrs. Wiegel, became a passenger on the car of the defendant in November, 1909, and while attempting to alight from the defendant’s car, was thrown violently to the ground and injured; that said injury was caused by the negligence of the defendant company, in failing to provide a safe place for the plaintiff to alight and in not providing sufficient lights, and in failing to assist -the plaintiff in leaving the train. The evidence disclosed by the record shows that, on the evening of the day-in question, Mrs. Wiegel and her sister had walked to Scotthaven station, a station on the said road operated by the defendant corporation, to take a train due at 5:25 o’clock for Douglass, a station about a mile distant on the same line; that they boarded this train,
Upon this state of the testimony, the court submitted the case to the jury, and refused to affirm the defendant’s point that, under the plead-. ings and evidence in the case, the verdict should be for the defendant. We do not deny the defendant’s proposition, that a carrier is not bound to assist a passenger on and off its trains, unless such passenger is one obviously unable to care for himself, or unless notice hás been given to those in charge'of the train that such passenger will require assistance, or unless the circumstances in other "respects are unusual and dangerous, of which notice to the alighting passenger is obviously required. We nevertheless are of opinion that, although the case is
The judgment below is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- PITTSBURGH & L. E. R. CO. v. WIEGEL et ux.
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Carriers (§ S20*) — Action f Evidence considered, in au action against a railroad company to recover for an injury to a woman passenger, received when alighting from a train after dark at a way station, and held, to justify the submission to the jury of the questions whether defendant provided proper lights, whether the train was stopped so as to bring the steps of the car opposite the station platform, or at a place where the ground was uneven and more than ordinarily dangerous, and whether the conductor had such information as to make it his duty to assist plaintiff. LEd. Note. — For other cases, see Carriers, Cent. Dig. § 1214; Dec. Dig. § 320.*]