Staton v. Virginian Railway Co.

Riley, Judge:

Bertha Staton, administratrix of the estate of Russel Staton, deceased, instituted this action against the Virginian Railway Company to recover damages for the death of her decedent, ascribed to the failure of the defendant, an interstate carrier, to provide with an efficient hand brake a gondola car attached to a train on which the decedent was the head brakeman. Error is prosecuted by the plaintiff to a judgment, on a jury verdict, for defendant.

It was plaintiff’s contention that the brake was defective in that it would slip due to a worn pawl, when a certain amount of tension…