Gurganas v. W. K. Huntemann & Son Funeral Home
Gurganas v. W. K. Huntemann & Son Funeral Home
Opinion of the Court
After trial by the court appellee was awarded a judgment for damages sustained in an automobile accident in the total amount of $1,286.53, consisting of property damage in the sum of $1,036.53 and damages for loss of use in the sum of $250. Judgment was also entered for appellee on appellant’s counterclaim.
Appellant contends that Section 6(a) of the Traffic Regulations,
The prevailing law is that it is the state of mind of the driver of an emergency vehicle, based upon information received, which determines if he is responding to an emergency call, not whether an emergency in fact exists.
However, given the fact that evidence as to the nature of the telephone
We do however agree with appellant’s second claim of error; namely, that appellee failed to prove damages for loss of use. A witness, the employee, said only that appellee lost a considerable number of calls while the ambulance was being repaired. A list of the number and dates of those calls was introduced in evidence, but the list did not contain any notation of the value of the calls lost, nor was there any other testimony as to their value. It was therefore error to award appellee damages for loss of use in the sum of $250 and we direct that the total judgment be reduced by that amount. Otherwise, the judgment as modified is
Affirmed.
. D.C. Traffic and Motor Vehicle Regulations, Part I, § 50:
(a) Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle making use of audible and visual signals meeting the requirements of Section 131.1 of these regulations, or of a police vehicle properly and lawfully making use of an audible signal only:
1. The driver of every other vehicle shall yield the right-of-way and shall immediately drive to a position parallel to, and as close as possible to, the right-hand edge or curb of the roadway, clear of any intersection, and shall stop and remain in such position until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed, except when otherwise directed by a police officer.
. D.C. Traffic and Motor Vehicle Regulations, Part I, § 6:
(a) The driver of an authorized emergency vehicle, when responding to an emergency call or when in the pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law or when responding to but not upon returning from a fire alarm, may exercise the privileges set forth in this section, but subject to the conditions herein contained. (Emphasis supplied)
. Adams v. Manchester Ins. & Indem. Co., 385 S.W.2d 359 (Mo.App. 1964) ; Delgado v. Brooklyn Ambulance Serv. Corp., 29 Misc.2d 454, 211 N.Y.S.2d 297 (1961); Lakoduk v. Cruger, 48 Wash.2d 642, 296 P.2d 690 (1956) ; Gallup v. Sparks-Mundo Eng’r Co., 43 Cal.2d 1, 271 P.2d 34 (1954) ; Head v. Wilson, 36 Cal.App. 2d 244, 97 P.2d 509 (1939).
. Head v. Wilson, supra note 3; Nick Bombard, Inc. v. Proctor, D.C.Mun.App., 47 A.2d 405 (1946) ; cf. Lakoduk v. Cruger, supra note 3; Gallup v. Sparks-Mundo Eng’r Co., supra note 3. See also, Guaranty Dev. Co. v. Circle Paving Co., D.C.Mun.App., 83 A.2d 160, 162 (1951).
. Answers to interrogatories reveal that the ambulance was summoned by the police to pick up a Mr. Pope and to transport him to the hospital.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- William Harvey GURGANAS v. W. K. HUNTEMANN & SON FUNERAL HOME
- Status
- Published