188 Ind. 415 | Ind. | 1919
— Appellee recovered a judgment for $20,000 for personal injuries sustained by him as a result of a rear-end collision between two freight trains operated on a railroad of which appellant was receiver. At the time of the collision appellee was in the employ of appellant acting as conductor of extra train 901 running north from Seiffert to Terre Haute, and when about three-fourths of a mile north of Youngs, the train, of which appellee was conductor, was run into from the rear by the locomotive of regular train 362 operated by servants of appellant. Train 901 left Seiffert under a caution block, there being a train ahead in the same block designated as extra 961. As train 901 approached Youngs a red fusee dropped by the train ahead caused it to slow down till the signal burned out, after which it continued north until the collision occurred at a point about three-fourths of a mile north of Youngs. At the time train 901 slowed down for the red fusee it did not come to a full stop, but proceeded at the rate of three or four miles per hour until the fusee burned out, after which it proceeded north and was running from eight to ten miles per hour when train 362 came into collision with it from the rear. Train 362, which collided with the rear end of train 901, left Seiffert under a caution block which indicated that the block was not clear of other trains and that the train must proceed with caution.
The complaint proceeds on the theory that the servants of appellant in charge of train 362 were negligent in operating said train, under the conditions shown, at a dangerous rate of speed and in failing to look out for and observe the signal lights displayed on the rear end of the caboose of train 901, which negligence is alleged
There is only one error well assigned, and that is that the trial court erred in overruling appellant’s motion for a new trial.
In disposing of the question here presented, the court may eliminate all evidence on the subject of contributory negligence and consider only the evidence bearing on the question of defendant’s negligence. As constituting negligence appellee relies on the evidence showing the manner in which train 362 was operated by the servants of the receiver in charge, and especially the evidence in reference to the speed of such train immediately before the collision, and the failure of the engineer to observe the' red lights on the rear of the caboose and to have his train under such control as to enable him to stop it in time to avoid a collision.
Judgment affirmed.
Note. — Reported in 122 N. E. 579. Comparison of negligence under the federal Employers’ Liability Act, Ann. Cas. 1914C 175. Personal injuries: right to recover for future pain and suffering, 9 Ann. Cas. 1051; what is excessive verdict for injuries not resulting in death, 16 Ann. Cas. 8, Ann. Cas. 1913A 1361. See under (3) 26 Cyc 1444; (7) 26 Cyc 1502; (11) 17 C. J. 1075.