United States Director General of Railroads v. Bishop
Opinion of the Court
By derailment of bis engine on December 12, 1918, T. M. Bishop, engineer on Norfolk Southern Railroad, was seriously burnt on his legs and buttock, and his collar bone was broken. Pie was taken to the hospital and apparently received proper attention at the hands of the defendant from doctors and nurses. The wounds seemed to be healing, and he appeared to be on the way to early recovery, until pneumonia supervened on January 4, 1919. Bishop died of pneumonia on January 8, 1919. Plis widow, as administratrix, recovered a verdict for $30,000 on a declaration charging that the injuries and death were due to the negligence of the defendant. The District Judge ordered a new trial, unless the plaintiff should remit $10,000 from the verdict. The plaintiff complied with the order, and judgment was entered for $20,000.
There was evidence that the injuries were due to negligence of the defendant and no error is assigned as to that issue. The main question on the trial was whether there was any ground for a reasonable conclusion that the injuries were the sole or a contributing cause of the fatal attack of pneumonia. On this issue the evidence was conflicting.
Affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES DIRECTOR GENERAL OF RAILROADS v. BISHOP
- Status
- Published