“ As the engine backed up, it spewed out a shower of sparks, covering Rodicker with fire and burning his back and neck. He leaned away from the engine's steps to save himself from the sparks and smashed into a negligently placed steel garbage container that knocked him to the tracks unconscious. ”

“ He brought suit against respondent under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, urging that his injury was negligently caused by the engine's excessive sparks and the dangerous placement of the steel garbage containers. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed a judgment directing a verdict for the railroad. That court held that as a matter of law petitioner was an employee of the Union Passenger Terminal and not the Illinois Central at the time of this terrible accident. ”