On This Date in Minnesota History: December 16

December 16, 1904 – A verdict for the defendant was directed this morning by Judge Lochren of the U. S. Circuit Court after testimony had been presented in the case of Edward R. Stapleton, brakeman, against the Northern Pacific Railway Company.

Stapleton, through a guardian ad litem, sued to recover $25,000 damages for personal injuries received last March near Hinckley, Minn., when he was knocked from a freight car by a bank of ice and snow projecting towards the track. He was thrown under the wheels and his right hand was so injured that it had to be amputated.

The Saint Paul Globe; “Verdict Directed for the Railroad. Youthful Brakeman Loses His Personal Injury Suit.”; Dec. 17, 1904; p. 2.

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/35447738.jpg

During the early days of railroading, one of the most deadly jobs in America was that of brakeman, who worked from the top of moving trains in all weather.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brakeman#/media/File:900801-peckwell-apicnic.jpg

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