Opinion ID: 1279862
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Short Horn

Text: South Carolina Code Ann. § 58-15-910 (1976) requires a train sound its bell and whistle beginning 1,500 feet before a crossing and continuing until the engine has crossed the intersection. CSX concedes the engineer did not sound the horn for 1,500 feet before the Jordan Street Crossing, but rather did so for only 564 feet. Mrs. Medlin, the driver, testified she did not hear the horn, and Plaintiff offered testimony from an expert that given the sound proofing in the automobile and the fact that the windows were rolled up and the air conditioning on, the whistle was inaudible to Mrs. Medlin at any distance. Finally, Plaintiff offered a witness who testified the train tooted only twice before entering the crossing. If a railroad fails to give the required signals at a crossing, and this failure contributes to an injury, then the railroad is liable for all damages. S.C.Code Ann. § 58-17-1440 (1976). Here, the jury could have found, based upon Mrs. Medlin's testimony, that the engineer failed to sound the horn. Further, despite the audiologist's testimony that the car passengers could not have heard the horn, the jury could have found that had the horn been sounded, Mrs. Medlin would have heard it. See, e.g., State v. Johnson, 66 S.C. 23, 44 S.E. 58 (1903) (jury may properly disregard expert testimony). The directed verdict was properly denied on the short horn theory. Jinks, supra .