Phillips v. Southern Pacific Co.

GOULD, J., pro tem.

Plaintiff, employed by defendant corporation as switchman, brought this action for damages for injuries suffered when the impact of cars shunted by a switch engine precipitated him from the roof of a freight car to the ground below. Negligence of defendant in two particulars was alleged, viz., that the string of freight cars upon which plaintiff was working was equipped with faulty handbrakes, in violation of the Federal Safety Appliance Act, and that unusual force and violence, without warning to plaintiff, were used by his fellow employees in shunting other cars against…