Lemmon v. Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Co.

CROCKETT, Chief Justice.

Plaintiff, a switchman, sued for injuries to his back suffered in falling from the side of a boxcar when one of the iron ladder rungs (in railroad parlance a grab iron) collapsed. The action was brought under the Federal Safety Appliance, 1 and the Federal Employers’ Liability Acts. 2 Plaintiff recovered jury verdict and judgment of $6,112.80 and defendant appeals. The principal errors assigned are in rulings on evidence and in giving certain instructions.

The facts leading up to the plaintiff’s injury, including a long period of amnesia, involve one of the strangest…