Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Co. v. Mihas

Background

A railroad employee sued after being thrown between freight cars during a switching operation and suffering serious injury. The worker, Mihas, climbed over a standing coal car to reach his small speeder car about ten minutes before seven a.m. A crew used a flying switch to propel nine cars into the standing cars, striking them and throwing Mihas between cars. A jury found for the worker and the Illinois appellate court affirmed; the state supreme court denied review and this Court granted review.

Reasoning

The Court considered whether the railroad owed Mihas a duty to warn or protect him under these facts. The Court explained that the company’s custom to warn people unloading cars applied only to those unloaders, not to employees working on or about the tracks. There was no evidence the switching crew knew or had reason to believe Mihas was between the cars. Because a plaintiff must show a duty owed to him, and no such duty to Mihas was proved here, the evidence failed to show negligence. The Court held the trial should have ended with a verdict for the railroad, reversed the judgment, and remanded for proceedings consistent with that ruling.

Real world impact

The ruling limits recovery for employees who cross between standing cars for convenience when the railroad lacked notice or a duty to protect them. Railroads will face less liability in similar situations unless it is shown they knew of the employee’s danger or owed a specific duty. The judgment was reversed and the case remanded for further steps consistent with the opinion.