104 Ga. 582 | Ga. | 1898
This was an action brought by Mrs. Lucinda C. Barnett against the Middle Georgia and Atlantic Railway Company, for the homicide of her minor son, who was in the employment of the defendant as' a brakeman. The alleged negligence on the part of the company, upon which the plaintiff claimed the right to recover, was, that it left an open drain under its track in one of its yards, where cars had to be coupled and uncoupled and switched back and forth; it being insisted that such drain, in this condition, was unsafe and dangerous to life, and that it was the duty of the company to have properly covered it up. The evidence was conflicting. That offered in behalf of the plaintiff tended to show that her deceased son, while engaged in the discharge of his duties as brakeman and without fault on his part, stepped into this drain at night and was run down and killed by a moving car of the defendant. The evidence for the latter tended to show that the drain under the track was not a contributing cause to the death of the plaintiff’s son; of, if it was, that he himself was at fault and contributed to the injury. The homicide occurred at night, and the parties were at issue as to whether or not the deceased was using a lighted lantern at the time of the catastrophe. It was also a disputed question whether the deceased knew of the existence of the drain, or was sufficiently acquainted with the place and its surroundings to be fairly chargeable with knowledge of the fact that it was there. There was a verdict for the plaintiff. The defendant made a motion for a new trial, on various grounds, which was overruled, and it excepted. The foregoing brief statement, in connection with the additional facts hereinafter set forth, will be sufficient' to an understanding of the following discussion of the material questions presented for decision.
Judgment affirmed.