Chicago B. & Q.R. Co. v. Krayenbuhl
Encyclopedia
Chicago B. & Q.R. Co. v. Krayenbuhl (1902) 65 Neb. 899, 91 N.W. 880. was a case that established negligent liability
on a railroad company.
The appellant maintained a railway turntable (a rotating platform with a track for turning a locomotive) near a publicly traveled path. The appellee, a 4 year old child of the Krayenbuhl family, discovered that the turntable was unlocked, climbed on it, and while playing on it with a group of children got his foot caught between the rails, which severed it at the ankle joint.
The Supreme Court of Nebraska held that it was negligent for Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
not to keep the turntable locked and guarded. They noted that the business of railroading is facilitated by the use of turntables, so it would go against the public good to require the appellant to invest so heavily in safeguards that it interfered with appellant's ability to use the turntables for their intended, beneficial use. However, the burden of keeping the turntable locked was so small that the danger of not doing so outweighed the burden.
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
on a railroad company.
The appellant maintained a railway turntable (a rotating platform with a track for turning a locomotive) near a publicly traveled path. The appellee, a 4 year old child of the Krayenbuhl family, discovered that the turntable was unlocked, climbed on it, and while playing on it with a group of children got his foot caught between the rails, which severed it at the ankle joint.
The Supreme Court of Nebraska held that it was negligent for Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington or as the Q, the Burlington Route served a large area, including extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri,...
not to keep the turntable locked and guarded. They noted that the business of railroading is facilitated by the use of turntables, so it would go against the public good to require the appellant to invest so heavily in safeguards that it interfered with appellant's ability to use the turntables for their intended, beneficial use. However, the burden of keeping the turntable locked was so small that the danger of not doing so outweighed the burden.
See also
- Chicago, B. & Q. R. Co. v. ChicagoChicago, B. & Q. R. Co. v. ChicagoChicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. v. City of Chicago, 166 U.S. 226 , incorporated the takings clause of the 5th amendment into the due process clause of the 14th amendment by requiring states to provide just compensation for seizing private property. This was the first supreme court case...