(Download) "Robert L. Zoeller v. Terminal Railroad" by St. Louis District Missouri Court of Appeals # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Robert L. Zoeller v. Terminal Railroad
- Author : St. Louis District Missouri Court of Appeals
- Release Date : January 20, 1966
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 64 KB
Description
Action under the Federal Employer's Liability Act on account of injuries sustained by plaintiff in the course of his employment as a switchman-foreman for the defendant. Judgment of $6000 in favor of plaintiff was followed by this appeal. Plaintiff's testimony shows that at about ten o'clock on the night of Saturday, september 14, 1963 in the course of performing his duties he descended the steep steps of a switch engine to the ground between Track No. 5 and Track No. 4 of the switching tracks in the Carrie Avenue (St. Louis) yards of the defendant. In this area there was no artificial light of any kind. Plaintiff was carrying a lantern which is adapted solely for passing signals; it has no beam and gives a diffused light. In passing down the steps plaintiff had the lantern suspended from his right wrist and held onto the grab iron on the engine with his right hand; in his left hand he held his switching check list. As he stepped off the steps, ""I stepped directly onto this pipe that was coming up out of the ground"". The pipe in question was eight to ten inches high, coming straight up on the vertical, and then bent over in an L shape with four or five inches on the horizontal. As plaintiff stepped onto the pipe with his left foot, his leg buckled underneath him and he fell, striking his head on some hard object, either the pipe or a rail. For a brief period he was unconscious; when he tried to get to his feet his leg would not bear the weight. Fellow workers put him on the engine which proceeded to the other end of the yard. There ice was applied to his ankle because of the swelling. He could not walk on the foot at all that evening. On the following Monday he went to the hospital where his ankle was X-rayed and treated and he was released. An Ace bandage was placed on plaintiff's leg and he was given the use of crutches for four weeks, after which he walked with a cane. During most of this period the ankle was swollen and pained the plaintiff a great deal of the time. He was off work for seven weeks. Plaintiff returned to work November 5, 1963 and he guesses that since that time he has missed five or six days because of the accident. Plaintiff's occupation requires him to jump on and off freight cars; when he does not land squarely on his foot it twists and the ankle swells, necessitating hot water treatment at night and propping up of the leg. Such incidents have occurred no more than once a month between November 1963 and January 18, 1965, the date of trial. Changes of weather - dampness, cold temperatures - cause the ankle to ache. Plaintiff noticed no changes in such conditions in the six months preceding trial. For straight walking plaintiff performs as well as before the accident. He participates in swimming and golf as before.