Smith v. Norfolk S. Ry. Co.

The evidence supported the trial court's jury charge on sudden emergency in the wrongful death action arising from a fatal collision between a freight train and a pickup truck at a railroad crossing.

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This appeal arises out of a fatal collision between a freight train and a pickup truck at a railroad crossing. Before the collision between the train and pickup truck, the truck was involved in an motor vehicle accident with another car and had come to rest on the railroad tracks as a result. A passenger in the truck subsequently was killed when the train owned by Norfolk Southern Railway Company entered the crossing and struck the truck. The plaintiffs, who are the children of the deceased truck passenger,1 filed this wrongful death action against Norfolk Southern, asserting claims for negligence per se and ordinary negligence on the ground that the train engineer allegedly had failed to blow the train’s horn upon approaching the railroad crossing in the manner required by a federal railroad regulation and the standard of ordinary care. Norfolk Southern answered, denying liability on the alleged grounds that its engineer’s actions were reasonable in light of the sudden emergency that had transpired and were not the proximate cause of the truck passenger’s death. The case was tried before a jury, which returned a verdict in favor of Norfolk Southern.

On appeal from the final judgment entered on the verdict, the plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred by charging the jury on the defense of sudden emergency for several reasons. The plaintiffs first contend that the evidence did not support the charge on sudden emergency. The plaintiffs also contend that a charge on the sudden emergency defense was improper because the defense was preempted by a federal railroad regulation. Furthermore, the plaintiffs contend that even if a sudden emergency charge was proper, the charge as given by the trial court was an incomplete statement of the defense. Lastly, the plaintiffs contend that a separate, introductory portion of the jury charge also contained an erroneous definition of the sudden emergency defense.

Smith v. Norfolk S. Ry. Co.

The evidence supported the trial court's jury charge on sudden emergency in the wrongful death action arising from a fatal collision between a freight train and a pickup truck at a railroad crossing.

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