Murphy v. Withington
Murphy v. Withington
Opinion of the Court
This is an action of tort for personal injuries received by reason of being knocked down on the cross walk on the southerly portion of Massachusetts Avenue in Boston on the easterly side of Washington Street, by a horse and buggy driven by the defendant,, in the daytime of July 19, 1901. It was not disputed at the trial that the plaintiff was knocked down by a team driven by the defendant, and the only questions were whether the plaintiff was careful and the defendant careless.
The plaintiff testified that when she came to the southerly crossing of Washington Street and Massachusetts Avenue “ she stood and looked to the right and to the left; that she did not
The defendant strenuously contends that “a careful analysis of the whole evidence makes it clear that the injuries sustained by the plaintiff were the result of circumstances for which he was not responsible; that there was no sufficient evidence that his conduct toward the plaintiff was negligent conduct; that, putting it conservatively, the evidence was at least as consistent with due care as with negligence on his part; and that, therefore, the case should not have been submitted to the jury ” ; and in support of that contention his counsel has made an elaborate argument.
We have tried to make that “ careful analysis ” and find ourselves unable to agree with the defendant’s contention. There is some conflict in the evidence, and various views, some favorable to the plaintiff and some to the defendant, might be entertained as to the cause of the accident. With some slight modification we accept the views set forth in the brief of the plaintiff as to what the evidence warranted the jury in finding. The jury might have found that the defendant, knowing that his horse was liable to be excited by the passage of trains upon the elevated structure and when so excited was liable to quicken
The case was properly submitted to the jury.
Exceptions overruled.
The frightening of the‘horse was described by the defendant as follows: “I was driving in a Goddard bnggy with the curtains down and the top lifted back one reach. I was alone, driving along Massachusetts Avenue. At that time the elevated road over Washington Street at Massachusetts Avenue had been in operation only about a month. As I approached Washington Street I had one rein in each hand and was driving slowly, quietly trotting at the usual gait of the horse. Q. As you approached the crossing of Washington Street and Massachusetts Avenue what if anything happened ? A. An elevated train came into sight suddenly around the corner of the building in front of and fairly over the horse’s head. The elevated station between Northampton Street and Massachusetts Avenue was at my right. The train was coming from Roxbury, and was coming to a stop. — Q. What happened then? A. The horse suddenly jumped forward and made a bolt to get out of the way, apparently.”
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.