De Keuster v. Green Bay & Western Railroad

Under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act it is a railroad’s duty to furnish a reasonably safe place for its employee to work and reasonably safe tools and appliances with which to work. This duty is not an absolute one but the railroad must exercise reasonable care to that end. Baltimore & Ohio S. W. R. Co. v. Carroll (1930), 280 U. S. 491, 50 Sup. Ct. 182, 74 L. Ed. 566. The employee has the burden of proving the negligence of the employer.

Defendant summarizes its argument here as follows:

“The defendant furnished the plaintiff with an appliance to climb atop the stack of ties — the natural…