Wagner v. International Railway Co.

Facts

Wagner sued the International Railway Company for personal injuries. The company ran an electric railway between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. At one point its tracks rose on a trestle to a height of twenty-five feet, turned left, crossed a bridge about one hundred and fifty-eight feet long, then turned right and came down another incline. Above the trestles the ties were unguarded at the ends, so cars overhung the edge, especially at curves. Wagner and his cousin Herbert boarded a car near the bottom of a trestle. Other passengers filled the platform and blocked the aisle. The platform had doors, but the conductor did not close them. The car turned a curve at six to eight miles an hour without slackening. There was a violent lurch, and Herbert was thrown out near where the trestle changes to a bridge. The car went on across the bridge and stopped near the foot of the incline. It was night and dark. Wagner walked along the trestle, four hundred and forty-five feet, to the bridge, hoping to find his cousin's body. He said the conductor asked him to go and followed with a lantern. The conductor denied both statements. Others went beneath the trestle and found Herbert's body under the bridge. Wagner found Herbert's hat on a beam at the bridge, missed his footing in the darkness, and fell to the ground beside them.

Issues

1. Can a person hurt while going to rescue someone endangered by a defendant's negligence recover from the defendant, even if the defendant's employee did not invite the rescue?
2. Does a rescuer lose his claim because he had time to reflect and choose, instead of acting on instinct?
3. Who decides whether a rescuer's search, which the defendant calls useless and wanton, was reasonable or foolhardy?

Holding

The trial judge erred by requiring proof of an invitation and a following light. If the company's negligence caused Herbert's fall, Wagner could recover for injuries suffered going to rescue him. Deliberation did not break the causal chain, and the jury had to decide whether his conduct was reasonable.