NEGLIGENCE-PROOF OF CAUSATION

Decedent, a passenger on defendant\u27s railroad was bound for X Terminal. The car doors were open and a trainman called out, X Terminal, next, but the train stopped in the dark at point Y before reaching the announced destination to allow another train to pass. Decedent\u27s body was found near point Y. Suit was brought by decedent\u27s widow under the state wrongful death statutes. The lower court held that the plaintiff\u27s failure to show that decedent left the train at point Y was a fatal gap in the causal chain, and gave judgment for the defendant notwithstanding the verdict. Held, reversed with directions to enter judgment on the jury verdict. Plaintiff may rely on circumstantial evidence to prove the causal connection between defendant\u27s wrongful act and decedent\u27s injury. Williams v. Reading Co., (3d Cir. 1949) 175 F. (2d) 32