Wright v. Midwest Old Settlers & Threshers Ass'n

At issue in the present case is whether a train operated by the defendants, Midwest Old Settlers and Threshers Association (association) and Gary Van Gilst, comes within the definition of a common carrier, thereby justifying an instruction in a personal injury action on the higher standard of care attributable to a common carrier. The plaintiffs, Mary Jo and Gary Wright and their two minor children, maintain that the train the association operated is a common carrier and therefore subject to a higher degree of care to others. We disagree and affirm.

On September 1, 1991, Mary Jo Wright was…