THOMAS G. LAWRENCE, APPELLANT,
v.
FLORIDA EAST COAST RAILWAY COMPANY, A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1968-12-17
No. 68-538
Before CHARLES CARROLL, C. J., and PEARSON and HENDRY, JJ.
216 So. 2d 779 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1968)

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

This case involves an injured worker suing a railroad company under the Federal Employers' Liability Act (FELA). The appellate court reversed the trial court's directed verdict, finding the worker had employee status and sufficient evidence of employer negligence to go to a jury.


Holding

Yes, the appellant had employee status entitling him to sue under FELA. Yes, the proofs were sufficient to submit the question of employer negligence to the jury.


Key Quotes

“The appellant had employee status entitling him to sue under F.E.L.A. (Sinkler v. Missouri Pacific R. Co., 356 U.S. 326, 78 S.Ct. 758, 2 L.Ed.2d 799)”

Establishes the appellant's employee status for FELA purposes.

Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

The appellant was an employee of an independent contractor performing road maintenance on the appellee's railroad. While working under the supervision…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The appellant was employed by an independent contractor on road maintenance of the appellee’s railroad. While working along with employees of the railroad company, under supervision of its foreman, the appellant was injured in performing a directed duty. He filed action against the railroad company under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, 45 U.S.C.A. § 51 et seq., to recover damages for his injuries, and takes this appeal from a judgment for defendant entered on a directed verdict. We find error and reverse.

The appellant had employee status entitling him to sue under F.E.L.A. (Sinkler v. Missouri Pacific R. Co., 356 U.S. 326, 78 *780S.Ct. 758, 2 L.Ed.2d 799), and we hold, on authority of Rogers v. Missouri Pacific R. Co., 77 S.Ct. 443, 352 U.S. 500, 1 L.Ed.2d 493, that the proofs were sufficient to submit to the jury the question of whether employer negligence played a part in producing the .appellant’s injury. See also Conner v. Butler, 361 U.S. 29, 80 S.Ct. 21, 4 L.Ed.2d 10 (reversing Conner v. Butler, Fla.App.1959, 109 So.2d 183).

Reversed and remanded for new trial.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw