Ferguson v. Central Railroad
Supreme Court of New Jersey
On error to the Supreme Court. On May 8th, 1900, Charles Eerguson, a locomotive fireman, while engaged in the performance of his duties upon the engine of the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey (running upon the roadbed of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company), was, by its sudden derailment, thrown underneath it and killed.
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On error to the Supreme Court. On May 8th, 1900, Charles Eerguson, a locomotive fireman, while engaged in the performance of his duties upon the engine of the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey (running upon the roadbed of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company), was, by its sudden derailment, thrown underneath it and killed. The accident occurred on the latter company’s railway, at a street crossing near its Jenkintown station, in the State of Pennsylvania, and the widow of the. deceased has brought her action here in its present form, under the authority of the statutes of that…
1Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Vredenburgh, J.
(after stating the facts). The foregoing evidence sufficed to lay a foundation from which the jury could legitimately infer that the cause of the sudden uplifting and overthrow of the engine was the deposit upon the railway track of the sand, stones and materials washed down by the rainstorm, so as to become suddenly impacted or wedged in front of the fast-moving locomotive and so obstructed its' passage.as to raise it up from its tracks and derail it in the manner described in the plaintiff’s evidence.
In taking this case from the jury…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Herrick v. Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Co.Supreme Court of Minnesota · 1883
- Newark Passenger Railway Co. v. BlockSupreme Court of New Jersey · 1893
3Cited by5 opinions
- Singer, Admrx. v. MessinaSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1933
- Vaillancourt v. Grand Trunk Railway Co.Supreme Court of Vermont · 1909
- Smyth Sales, Inc. v. Petroleum Heat & Power Co.Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · 1942
- Shappell v. Apex Express, Inc.Supreme Court of New Jersey · 1944
- Leonard v. Auto Parks, Inc.New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division · 1951