182 Mo. App. 694 | Mo. Ct. App. | 1914
(after stating the facts). — The court recited, in the order granting a new trial, that it erred in submitting the case to the jury, in that it should have directed a verdict for defendant, and this, of course, involves the idea that there is no substantial evidence to support a recovery on any of the grounds stated in the petition. It is urged by plaintiff that she made a prima-facie case by showing the fact that her husband came to his death at a public road crossing and defendant omitted to sound the statutory signals, but we are not so persuaded, in view of the contributory negligence on the part of decedent revealed in her evidence. The statute (Sec. 31401, R. S. 1909) imposes the obligation on defendant to ring the bell attached to its locomotive at a distance of eighty rods from the crossing of a public road and keep the same ringing until it shall have crossed such road, or sound the steam whistle eighty rods from the crossing and continue sounding it at intervals until the locomotive shall have crossed the public road. The same section provides, too, that the railroad company shall be liable for all damages any person shall hereafter sustain at such crossing when such bell shall not be rung or such whistle sounded as required, “Provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall preclude the corporation sued from showing that the failure to ring such bell or sound such whistle was not the cause
Here, there is an abundance of evidence tending to prove that defendant omitted to sound the whistle on the locomotive, as required by the statute, and, likewise, omitted to keep the bell constantly ringing. Of course, it is not essential to sound both the bell and whistle, for the statute is in the alternative as to this, but the evidence is that neither was done.
But be this as it may, it appears conclusively in plaintiff’s case that, but for his own negligence or inattention, plaintiff’s husband would not have been uppn the crossing immediately in front of the fast ap
But it is said, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, decedent must be presumed to have looked and listened for an approaching train, because the law always indulges the presumption that one exercised ordinary care for his own safety if nothing more ap
But it is said decedent may not be declared negligent, for the reason that there is no evidence tending to prove where the train was at the time he went upon the track. It is true nothing appears to that effect. But be this as it may, if plaintiff’s husband either walked, as men usually do, or ran, as the engineer says he did, it is clear the train was within his view, if he had looked for it, all of the time after passing some twenty-two feet north of Evers’ store and more than thirty-six feet south of the track. Oi the other hand, if plaintiff’s husband went upon the track before the train came into view half a mile to the westward and stood there without looking or listening until its approach, he was equally negligent in so doing. It is, therefore, certain that, in any view of the case, and
■But though such be true, no one can doubt the rule that,, although one is negligent for his own safety, a recovery may be allowed under the last chance doctrine[ if it appears he came to his injury through the negligence of another which more immediately occasioned his hurt — that is, if it appears such other person, after notice of his peril, neglected to exercise ordinary care to avert injuring him. The principle is, that the party who has the last opportunity of avoiding an injury is not excused by the prior neglect of the injured party. Therefore, the negligence of the party inflicting the injury and not that of the one first at fault is regarded in the law as the sole or proximate cause of the injury. In such cases, it is said the negligence of the defendant supersedes that of the plaintiff and becomes the proximate cause of, while that of plaintiff is to be treated as remote to, the injury. [See Klockenbrink v. St. Louis, etc. R. Co., 81 Mo. App. 351; s. c. 172 Mo. 678, 72 S. W. 900; Shearman & Redfield, Negligence (6 Ed.), Sec. 99.]
In some cases, where it appears one is upon the track and wholly oblivious to danger, as if asleep or unconscious, the courts seem to authorize a recovery for his ixljury under the last chance doctrine only where it appears the train could have been stopped and the injury thus averted. Such seems to be the rule, and we believe a proper one, on the facts of White v. Mo. Pac. R. Co., 159 Mo. App. 508, 141 S. W. 436. See, also, the case of Markowitz v. Met. St. R. Co., 186 Mo. 350, 359, 85 S. W. 351, where it is said it requires more than the showing of a mere possibility that the accident might have been avoided in order to bring a case within the humanitarian doctrine. [See, also, Burnett v. A. T. & S. F. R. Co., 172 Mo. App. 51, 154 S. W. 1135.] But there are other cases which authorize a recovery under the doctrine adverted to, even though
It is insisted that, though plaintiff’s husband was negligent at the time, she is, nevertheless, entitled to recover, for that it appears defendant might have averted the collision if its engineer had kept a vigilant watch, as was his duty, upon approaching the crossing of a- public road, and checked the speed of the train upon seeing him approaching the track as if to cross it and within the danger zone. It is certain' that the evidence introduced on the part of plaintiff alone is insufficient to authorize a recovery in this view; but though such be true, as to this matter, it is, in the present state of the case, competent to look at all of the testimony adduced on either side and consider the argument with reference thereto. [See Klockenbrink v. St. Louis, etc. R. Co., 172 Mo. 678, 72 S. W. 900.]
Besides laying a charge of negligence with respect to defendant’s omission to sound the signals, required by the statute, at a public road crossing, the petition avers, too, that defendant breached its duty in that those in charge of the locomotive failed to keep a vigilant lookout for persons in the highway and neglected to slacken or slow down the speed of the train after they either saw, or might have seen, plaintiff’s husband approaching the crossing with a view to passing over it. It is also averred in this connection, that defendant was negligent in not sounding alarm whistles after discovering the perilous situation of plaintiff’s husband and thus apprising him of the approach of the train. According to the evidence for plaintiff,
On this question, as to whether or not the issue should have been submitted to the jury, we are required
But though such be true, the court very properly set the verdict aside, for the reason the instructions given at the instance of plaintiff inhere with error throughout. Both the first and second instructions authorize a recovery for plaintiff on a finding of negligence against defendant for an omission to sound the statutory crossing signals, and this, too, though plaintiff’s husband was negligent for his own safety at the time. This was error under the rule of decision above pointed out, and this is true even though contributory negligence was not pleaded in the answer, and we think it is, for that sufficiently appears in
The order granting a new trial should be affirmed and the cause remanded for further proceedings in accordance with the views above expressed. It is so ordered.