The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-03-21
ENPI OVERS LIABI TTY FOR
PERSONAL INJURY DISCUSSED
uris q
4

exercise such ordinary care and pre-
czlssO7 as 3 reasonably prEde-t Ea1
wOald supply If Re himself were ex-
posed 10 1he dangers d The servant :
E0sszs0a
T1a.e arg certain general duties
laid ayon 1as servant IL 1as matter
Of MS OWE care and protection aid,
unless Tie servant performs these Gu
ties u1dar crdEaary circumstances
and II TIE absence o. Z statutory liz
assz1Ts LIZ cslno rsc0Fsr TIE pr1lci-
pal dirty lad npoa ing servant Is that
Ia EasE exercise The sane care ard
sZ1igEca n re performance Of his
duties azd n The matter o. his ga7
z-osac1loz against accidents that i
1zSl mon the master, viz the servant
~ sz-as0ys must exercise the care and
t;a-afzEzsss q IN ordinarils prudent
Ezz 1-6a- similar circumstances.
again me servant Il charged with
xhss Z EpEn as ting assumption OF
risk, sz5csss risks incident 70 the bust
zass K WITCH ne engages. and an0tb-
= chz-aessr Of risks which ne as
srZes are these risks incident 10
asfae4s o. when the servant has
EzsoEkes5ge and which taere has been
I'd opportunity on the part of the
zssIs- 10 repair. and no promise On
LIZ sa=s that he viii repair, and
again, u some Jurisdictions, and in
regard 10 some occupations outside
q the Hazardous business OF railroad
ing tia elpioge assumes me risks
q rhose WIG are engaged with bin
zg oo-eE pores IL the same Ike OF
business
the serious difficulty IN the en-
5oresZens Of these rights and habili-
hes i he uacertaintF Of The standard
q measurement viz. TIE care and
caratuluess required OF both the en-
psoge- and the enploye is the care Of
me ordinary prudent man Who fixes
the csre Of this ordinarily prudent
mani Every ordinarily prudent man
has ~ tines lspses Of memory. This
sarna man AZ times torgels something
that TIE ordinarily prudent man would
MOI forget This forgeffulness. this
lapse OF memory. this concentration OF
the mind upon some absorbing sub
jet, 10 the exclusion Of surroundings.
mental conditions brought about By
trouble, sorrow, self-interest. a condi
ton involuntary In the particular per
son, yet Al times the experience OF
every one, becomes liz the case of an
accident question of cold analysis.
not as 10 what the particular mental
attitude o. tie suppositions and some
times altogether impossible creature
Of hypothesis. the ordinarily pruden-
man. This ordinarily prudent man,
creature Of the imagination, in the
thousands Of descriptions which re
have had Of him in the arguments Of
counsel and the decisions Of the
courts, has been made to do queer
and contradictory things. for you VIII
understand that the standard OF care
fixed by the Law, as TO whether the
master is performing TIE duties laid
upon him, or the employe is following
the line Of his employment properly,
is measured. upon the recurring aueS-
tons Of negligence and contributors
negligence. by the standard Of ordin-
airy care and carefulness. that is, by
such care as the ordinarily prudent
man would exercise under similar cir
cnmstances. This ordinarily prudent
man, as construed BY the courts, does
not always act in the same way, under
similar conditions. In one jurisdiction,
he is negligent because, as he APP
preached a railway track, he failed To
zee or avoid an approaching car or
train. In another jurisdiction, under
exactly the same circumstances, the
ordinarily prudent man. is not negli-
gent because he failed to see the same
approaching car or train. In one iuris.
diction, this ordinarily prudent person.
having two ways in which he might
perform a given service, one of which
is dangerous and the other not, is held
guilty Of contributory negligence. be.
+ cause he chose the dangerous way
In the other Jurisdiction under circum.
stances that are identical, the ordinary
prudent man is not held guilty Of negli
gence in taking the more dangerous
way, and these two contractors
rules may be in force in the sam.
state, depending ON whether your case
Is tried in the state or fedora
courts
What this ordinarily prudent man
will or will not do depends frequently
upon the temperament of the Judge
or the condition of his digestion. Ii
is an uncertain and varying standard
II has given very many undeserving
reckless, careless people large sums
Of money which they should not
have had II has oftentimes deprived
many deserving litigants OF their lust
: deserts The criticism that desire
to emphasize Is that it creates in
equality, uncertainty, and in many in
stances unfairly compensates equally
deserving persons, injured under ex
actiy like and similar circumstances
There are many other controlline
. OBJECTIONS to the present condition OIL
z IL.