132 Ga. 127 | Ga. | 1909
(After stating the foregoing facts.)
Prior to 1905 the Civil Code, §5536, par. 1, only provided for transmitting to this court additional portions .of the record which had not been required to be sent up by specification made by the plaintiff in error. If a brief of the evidence had been approved and filed as a part of the record, it could be transmitted on application and order as other desired portions of the record might be. The authority of the judge was-confined to ordering “the whole or any part of the record sent up by the clerk.” There was no authority.
If the engineer would not have been so clearly precluded from recovering, had the suit been brought by him, as to authorize a nonsuit, it would seem clear that the fireman was not in that position. But even if the engineer was guilty of some negligence, it does not follow as matter of course that the fireman was likewise negligent. It may be contended that the engineer was acting out of the scope of his employment in going back after the cushion; that if this be not so, he adopted a more dangerous method of securing the cushion by going back for it upon the engine rather than on foot; and that the fireman, in accompanying him, was not free from fault. In these views we can not concur. The engineer testified: “I had been on duty about a half an hour, and so had Bichie Jacob Jackson. . . About thirty minutes before his injury and death as stated, we mounted our engine preparatory to connecting with the train to make the trip to Jacksonville.” The witness was the engineer of the company, and Jackson was the fireman on the engine, “and for and under him.” The hostler had brought the engine from the shop and delivered it to the engineer and fireman. It thus appears that they had entered upon the discharge of their duty, by taking the custody of it in the yard, not far from the depot. The hostler‘had left the engine and gone back to the shop, which was also in the yard. The equipment of engines was kept in the workshop and carried there after trips upon the road and taken thence preparatory to making trips. The engineer testified that the cushion was “a part of the equipment of the engine, and provided by the company as such for the use of the engineers in making long trips;” and while the particular cushion- then being used had been made by the engineer, it had been accepted and used in lieu of one originally furnished by the
Can it be said as matter of law that they were guilty of such negligence as to bar a recovery on account of the death of the fireman? As already stated, the engineer testified that the cushion, which was a part of the equipment of the engine, was left at the shop, when the hostler brought out the engine and delivered
But if it should be conceded that the engineer was guilty of negligence, can it be declared, as matter of law, that the fireman was also guilty of such negligence as to preclude a recovery by his mother for his homicide? It was his duty to fire the engine for and under the engineer. He had gone on duty, when the hostler had delivered the engine to the engineer and himself, and had de
The evidence' was sufficient to show negligence on the part of •other employees of the railroad company, if not of the company itself, — negligence relative to other employees in the yard or who might be there, resulting in the death of the fireman; that he was on the engine where it was his normal duty to be, and where his employment required him to be; and that he was guilty of no negligence, unless remaining on the engine when the engineer went back to the shop to get a cushion, which he testified was a part of the proper equipment of the engine, was per se negligence in law. We are unable to see how, as matter of law, it can be declared that this fireman was guilty of negligence which barred a recovery for his homicide.
Cases can easily be cited to the effect that where an employee of a railroad company violates a rule, or leaves a position where he ought to be, and goes to a place where he has no business to be, and thereby an injury accrues, he can not recover. Instances of this character of cases are, Sears v. Central R. Co., 53 Ga. 630; Central Railroad v. Sears, 59 Ga. 437, 61 Ga. 280; Chattanooga R. Co. v. Myers, 112 Ga. 237 (37 S. E. 439); Atlanta & Charlotte Air-Line Ry. Co. v. Ray, 70 Ga. 674; and other similar cases. In the Sears case it was not the duty of the conductor of a freight-train to couple and uncouple cars, except in case of a pressing emergency, of which it was declared the jury must judge; and it was held that if he was killed in performing such service, in the absence of such emergency, he was not without fault. In the Ray case a flagman, whose general place of duty was in the rear car of a train, was injured by the overturning of a stove in another car; and it was held that it was necessary for him to show that, at the time he was hurt, his duty required him to be at the place where the injury occurred. In the Myers case a brakeman was riding on the locomotive pulling the train, in violation of a duty devolving on him to be elsewhere, and while he was thus violating his duty he was injured. It was held that he was not without fault. A comparison of the facts involved in such cases with those in the case now before us will show a plain distinction. Besides, it is to be noted that in the Sears case, though it was three times before this court, and new trials were awarded, it was held
Judgment reversed.
The writer does not concur in the ruling made by a majority of the court, that the trial judge committed error in awarding a nonsuit. The writer concurs in the other rulings by the majority, but, on account of his belief that the judgment of nonsuit was proper, must dissent from the judgment of the court reversing the judgment of the lower- court. The plaintiff brought suit against the defendant company for damages on account of the homicide of her son, who, while in the employment of the defendant as a fireman, was- killed in the yards of the defendant company at Yaldosta, Ga. If the deceased was at fault, and such fault contributed in any appreciable degree to his death, there can be no recovery by his mother for his homicide. From the evidence contained in the bill of exceptions (which is the only evidence in the record which can be considered), it appears that it was the duty of the hostler to bring engines from the workshop in the yards to another portion of the yards, where such engines were taken charge of by the crews thereof, who attached them to outgoing trains; and it was the duty of the hostler, when an engine was to be used for long hauls, to place thereon a cushion for the engineer to sit upon while operating the engine, such cushion being a part of the equipment of the engine. In this instance the hostler failed to put the cushion on the engine. The engineer, upon discovering its absence, so notified the fireman and undertook to back his engine to the workshop to get the cushion, and, at his suggestion, the fireman agreed to accompany him. This engine, while being used on this mission, was run into by another engine which the hostler was bringing through the yards from the workshop, and in the collision the fireman was killed. It nowhere appears from the evidence that it was the duty of the engineer, or'any one else, to procure this cushion when the hostler failed to place it on the engine. The only person on whom the duty of placing the cushion on the engine rested was the hostler. When the engineer, therefore, undertook to back his engine to the workshop to get the cushion and place it on the engine, he was
.The master has the right to classify his business and assign, specified duties to different employees. One employee has no right, except in eases of emergency, to perform the duties of another. When he is killed while performing the duties of another employee,
The engineer testified as follows: “The hostler who brought the engine from the western part of the yard, at the workshop, to the eastern part of the yard, as stated, failed to place it upon'the engine as it was his duty to do. I called Jackson’s [the fireman] attention to this fact, and told him I would have to go back to the workshop and get the cushion; at my suggestion he agreed to go with me.” The evidence shows that the fireman had knowledge of the fact that the only purpose of the engineer in going with his engine to the workshop was to procure this cushion. He agreed to go simply at the suggestion of the engineer. He knew, too, that the trip was attended with danger, as.he held a signal-torch out of the cab of the engine at the request of the engineer, and was so holding it at the time the approaching engine was first sighted by the engineer. If the fireman, merely at the suggestion of the engineer, agreed to go with him on a mission which was outside of the ordinary duties of the engineer, and involved no emergency
If the engine on which the fireman met his death had, through the negligence of the crew thereof, killed some one, and if the company had been liable for such homicide, the fact that the company was liable for such killing can not change the logic of the situation. If an engineer, by reason of excessive speed, or through disobedience of orders, collides with a train, causing injury to a passenger thereon, the engineer would be violating his duty and could not recover for any injuries he might have sustained in such collision; but the fact that he was violating his duty would be ground for a recovery instead of defeating a recovery by the passenger. As to any one other than the fireman and engineer of the engine on which the fireman lost his life, the company would not perhaps be permitted to say, under the facts of this case, that its employees in charge of one of its engines and running it on the track of the company were not acting as employees of the company at the time. There are some authorities to the effect that employees in running an engine may be negligent in not keeping a lookout where persons may likely be on the track, and for such negligence alone the company will be liable for the homicide of a licensee, or even a trespasser, guilty of some negligence contributing to his death; but such doctrine can not apply where the person killed is an employee and was guilty of negligence substantially contributing to his death, as in the case under consideration. Whether the engineer and fireman, at the time of the death of the latter, were acting as licensees or employees, the plaintiff has m> right of recovery under the evidence. Whether acting within or without the scope of their employment, the facts bar a recovery. The principle that the presumption that an injured employee was without fault arises when there is proof of negligence of other employees which caused the injury can not benefit the plaintiff, when it appears from the plaintiff’s evidence that the fireman was at fault which substantially contributed to his death.
Nothing herein said affords even a suspicion that the obviously untenable position is assumed that when an employee runs an engine backwards he is acting without, and while he is running it forward he is acting within, the scope of his employment. The
The fact that it was customary and usual for engineers in the yard, after they had gone on duty, to move their engines at will to different points in the yard, and that this custom was known to the company and the yardmaster, could not be said to operate so as to make the fireman without fault, under the circumstances of this case. In this connection, see Chattanooga Southern R. Co. v. Myers, 112 Ga. 237 (37 S. E. 439). In that case a brakeman left his post of duty on top of the ears and got on a locomotive, and while riding on it a derailment occurred which caused his death. On pp. 239-240, Justice Fish, who delivered the opinion, uses this language: “His mere permissive presence on the locomotive did not relieve him from the consequences of taking a risk which he voluntarily chose to assume in going there; the rule being that one who enjoys a permissive privilege does so with all the concomitant perils. 3 Elliott, Bailroads, §§1267-1303. This is not a case of a trap or concealed danger, of which the company was bound to give notice. The danger of riding upon a locomotive was necessarily apparent to the deceased.” , In this connection see Cleveland, A. & C. Ry. Co. v. Workman, 66 O. St. 509 (64 N. E. 582, 90 Am. St. R. 582), where it was ruled: “An employee of a railroad company, whose duties in the performance of his employment do not require him to be on the main track of the railroad with a three-wheeled hand ear, called a ‘speeder/ but who goes upon the main track without any invitation or inducement therefor by the company, but with no objection on the part of the company, is, at most, a mere licensee; and his use of the track in such manner is subject to all the risks incident to the use of the track by the company in the same manner it was used at the time the license was granted, and the company does not owe him the duty to especially look out for and protect him when running its trains, except to use reasonable care and diligence to avoid injuring him after discovering him upon the track.” The fact that it was customary and usual for engineers to move their engines at will at
It is the duty of the master to furnish machinery reasonably safe. There is no allegation in the petition that it was not reasonably safe to operate the engine without a cushion. The hostler and engineer did run it without a cushion. The hostler neglected to place it on the engine when he was to' run it from the shop to the passenger-depot. There is no complaint that the engineer did not have a place to sit. He had to have a place to sit in order to have a place to put the cushion. He went off hunting for a cushion to make the seat more comfortable. Did he have any right to endanger the property of his master and imperil his own life and the lives of others in hunting for a cushion in order to have a more comfortable seat? When the master furnished the engineer and fireman an engine without a cushion, but reasonably safe, the master’s duty, under the law, was performed; and when the engineer went on a trip hunting for something to be used on the engine for his comfort and convenience while on the engine, after the engine had been furnished to him reasonably safe, he did something unnecessary to be done and something entirely for his own convenience. It appears from the evidence that the cushion was a part of the equipment of the engine, but there is no evidence whatever that the engine furnished the employee was not reasonably safe and equal in kind to that in general use, without the cushion. The law is that the master must furnish machinery and appliances reasonably safe and suitable for the purpose for which they are intended — not that he must supply the most approved patterns, those easiest of operation and best adapted for the use intended, or those which will afford the highest degree of convenience and' comfort to the employee engaged in their operation; and when
The writer is authorized to state that Presiding Justice Evans concurs in dissenting from the judgment .of the majority of the court in reversing the judgment of the trial judge awarding a non-suit.