Jelinek v. Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway Co.
Jelinek v. Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
Action to recover damages for personal injuries alleged to have been caused plaintiff by the negligence of the defendant street car company. On the trial in the district court for Douglas county the plaintiff had the verdict, and judgment, and the defendant has appealed.
It appears that plaintiff, on the morning of January 24,1911, met with an accident in alighting from one of defendant’s cars, west-bound on Cuming street, in the city of Omaha, at a point between Twenty-first and Twenty-second streets. It was alleged in plaintiff’s petition, in substance, that he had proceeded to the car steps to be ready to get off; that the car did not come to a stop; that he asked the conductor if he should get off; the conductor told him to get off, and at that time the car took a sudden lurch forward, which caused plaintiff’s foot to slip off the car steps to the pavement; that he took several steps while holding onto the handrail of the car, and thereupon the conductor grabbed hold of his arm and again told him to get off the car; that the speed of the car and the action of the conductor caused him to lose his hold and fall to the pavement, which fall resulted in the injuries of which he complained.
Defendant, by its answer, denied that at the time and place described in plaintiff’s petition there was any unusual movement of its car, denied that the conductor told plaintiff to get off the car, or in any way indicated to him that he should alight before the car stopped, and denied that the conductor jerked the plaintiff’s arm or loosened
The foregoing is the substance of the pleadings on which the cause was tried in the district court.
Among other assignments of error, appellant contends that the evidence was not sufficient, either in law or fact, to sustain a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff. It was conceded that plaintiff, when the accident occurred, was a passenger on defendant’s car; that he was unable to talk, with the conductor in the Polish, Bohemian or English language. On the trial plaintiff testified, in substance, that he did not talk to the conductor in either of those languages, but told him as best he could: “Mr. Conductor, I would like to have you notify me when I get to Twenty-second and Cuming street.” The conductor asked him if he did not know the streets in Omaha, and then said: “Well, go inside, I will let you know when we get to Twenty-second and Cuming.” He said: “There ain’t very many passengers in the car; there is lots of room. You better go in the car.” The question was asked: “What did the conductor do about notifying him for Twenty-second and
All of the other witnesses to the accident deny that the conductor told the plaintiff to get off, deny that'he ran along beside the car, and testify that he stepped off the car while it was running at a speed varying from six to ten miles an hour, and that the plaintiff then and there fell to the pavement.
In rebuttal plaintiff called as witnesses F. H. Moyer and Milton Freeman, who testified that they saw the accident; that they saw plaintiff fall from the car to the street, and the place where they thought he fell. It appears from the testimony of some of the plaintiff’s own witnesses that the jerk of the car, of which he complained, was caused by a slight acceleration of speed, amounting to about one mile an hour.
The foregoing is the testimony on which the jury rendered the verdict of which appellant complains. As we understand the record, plaintiff failed to establish any negligence on appellant’s part. It must be conceded that plaintiff either alighted or slipped from the step before the car stopped, while it was in rapid motion, and before it reached the far side of Twenty-second street, which was the place of plaintiff’s destination. There was-- no evidence of any unusual motion of the car or of any negligence in its operation. Plaintiff failed to show" such an acceleration of speed as would cause him to be jerked off the car step. The fact that the speed was increased at a rate of one mile an hour was not shown to amount to any unusual movement of the car not incident to its careful operation. Plaintiff was unable to say that the act of the conductor in grabbing hold of his arm or coat sleeve broke his hold on the handrail, but stated that he did not know whether the conductor was trying to force him off or pull him onto the car steps. It must be conceded that, in order for plaintiff to recover, it was necessary for him to prove some act of negligence on defendant’s part which was the proximate cause of his injury. There are many cases which hold that plaintiff could not excuse himself for
As we view the record, appellant’s contention is well founded, and therefore we deem it unnecessary to consider the other assignments of error. The judgment of the district court is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings.
Reversed.
Concurring Opinion
I concur in the conclusion, on the ground that the evidence does not sustain the verdict.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.