Dumphy v. New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort for personal injuries incurred while the plaintiff was employed by the defendant as a freight brakeman from having his arm caught between two freight cars when he was uncoupling them upon a side track near Hammond Street in Worcester adjoining the coal pockets of the Donohue Coal Company on December 23, 1904. Writ dated January 18, 1905. In the Superior Court the case was tried before Wait, J., who, at the close of the plaintiff’s evidence, ruled that there was not…
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Tort for personal injuries incurred while the plaintiff was employed by the defendant as a freight brakeman from having his arm caught between two freight cars when he was uncoupling them upon a side track near Hammond Street in Worcester adjoining the coal pockets of the Donohue Coal Company on December 23, 1904. Writ dated January 18, 1905. In the Superior Court the case was tried before Wait, J., who, at the close of the plaintiff’s evidence, ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to warrant a finding for the plaintiff, and ordered a verdict for the defendant. The plaintiff alleged…
1Opinion of the CourtSheldon, J.
If we assume that there was evidence on which the jury might have found that the defendant itself was negligent, or that there was negligence on the part of its servants for which the defendant might have been held liable either at common law or under our statutes, we yet are of opinion that the judge at the trial acted rightly in ordering a verdict for the defendant. The plaintiff was an experienced man. He knew that the train had come gradually to a stop upon a slightly rising grade; he knew that the drawbars which connected the cars were equipped with recoil springs, and that upon every…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. OrrSupreme Court of Alabama · 1890
- Hissong v. Richmond & Danville RailroadSupreme Court of Alabama · 1890
- Gleason v. Worcester Consolidated Street Railway Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1903
- Taylor v. Boston & Maine RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1905
- Ellsbury v. New York, New Haven, & Hartford RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1898
3Cited by2 opinions
- Standard Steel Car Co. v. MartineczIndiana Court of Appeals · 1916
- Morrison v. LeeNorth Dakota Supreme Court · 1911