Wysochansky v. Delaware & Hudson Railroad

In this case it appears that the plaintiff’s decedent, disregarding the safety gates which were, at the time lowered to bar traffic from a public crossing over the defendant’s tracks, went onto the crossing in broad daylight and was struck and killed by the defendant’s locomotive which was approaching from a direction where it had been clearly visible for a distance of over a quarter of a mile. The district court dismissed the action at the close of the plaintiff’s case upon the ground that the plaintiff’s decedent had been shown to have been guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of…