(Source: MIRS.news, Published 06/05/2024) A lawsuit filed on behalf of a 14-year-old boy who died when he was struck by a train walking on the railroad tracks will continue.
Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the dismissal of a suit filed on behalf of teen Jacob Marion against the Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company, returning the case to Wayne County Circuit Court for further proceedings.
In the court’s opinion from Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement, the majority noted that caselaw recognizes the presumption that a person will leave the railroad tracks for an oncoming train, but a train operator has a duty to take action to avoid a collision when it becomes apparent the trespasser cannot or will not move out of the way.
Marion was listening to music through his earbuds while walking near the railroad tracks between his home and his high school and the train operators noted that the teen did not appear to respond to the train’s emergency horn.
The engineer sounded the horn a second time, and finally applied the emergency brake about 1 second before the train struck Marion.
It took the train nearly 720 feet – or about 30 seconds – to stop after the emergency brake was applied.
Marion’s earbuds were found near the site of the collision, still playing music, according to the Supreme Court’s opinion.
“There remain genuine issues of material fact that preclude summary disposition at this point,” Clement wrote. “. . . A reasonable juror could conclude that the defendants were negligent in sounding a second horn rather than applying the emergency brake when it first became apparent that Jacob would not move.”
The court also noted that there remained a question as to whether the train operator had the ability to stop in time considering the first horn sounded 18 seconds to 19 seconds before the collision.
Justice David Viviano agreed with the majority’s recognition of the longstanding legal presumption, but he wrote separately to say the questions at issue are better stated as what point it became apparent to the railroad that Marion wasn’t leaving the tracks and whether there was still time to avoid a collision.
The court noted that Marion was a trespasser, but landowners who “should know of frequent trespassers must exercise reasonable care for the safety of trespassers when conducting dangerous activities.”
The railroad company sought dismissal of the suit, arguing that under Michigan law they can presume a person will get off the tracks before being hit.
The appeals court reversed, holding the railroad possessed a duty to stop the train when it became apparent that Marion didn’t hear the warning horns.
