Jacobs v. Southern Railway Co., 241 U.S. 229 (1916)

Jacobs v. Southern Railway Company

No. 326

Argued April 2, 1916
Decided May 22, 1916
241 U.S. 229

ERROR TO THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF VIRGINIA

Syllabus

Under § 4 of the Employers’ Liability Act, assumption of risk as a defense is abolished only where the negligence of the carrier is in violation of some statute enacted for the safety of employees; in other cases, therefore, it is retained.

An experienced employee, admittedly knowing the material conditions and presence of a pile of cinders, who attempts to board a moving engine with a vessel of water in his hand must be considered as appreciating the danger and assuming the risk although at the time he may have forgotten the existence of the cinders, and this is so even if the employer was negligent in allowing the cinders to remain. There being no violation of any safety statute, the common law defense of assumption of risk is not eliminated in such a case by the Employers’ Liability Act.

116 Va. 189 affirmed.

The facts, which involve the construction and application of the contributory negligence provisions of the Employers’ Liability Act, are stated in the opinion.