Mussman v. Steele
Mussman v. Steele
Opinion of the Court
August Mussman, as administrator of the estate of his deceased wife, sued to recover damages resulting from her death, which he charges was proximately caused by the negligence and wrongful acts of the defendant. Defendant denied any negligence, and alleged that Mrs. Muss-man’s death resulted from other causes. At the conclusion of the evidence, the trial court, on motion of defendant, directed a verdict in his favor. Plaintiff has appealed.
The record discloses that Mr. and Mrs. Mussman resided in Fillmore county. July 8, 1932, at her home, Mrs. Muss-man accidentally cut the small finger of her left hand. Two days later she became ill, and it appears that she was suffering from septicsemia, or blood poisoning, and continued to grow worse until the 17th of July, when the attending and consulting physicians advised that she be taken to a hospital in Lincoln where she could have better care. The plaintiff arranged with defendant, the owner of an ambulance, to táke his wife to a hospital in Lincoln. Defendant went to plaintiff’s home, where Mrs. Mussman
Plaintiff testified that he smelled liquor on the breath of the driver of the ambulance at the scene of the accident; that prior to the accident he had been driving at an excessive rate of speed; that plaintiff had protested several times at the rate of speed; that in going down the hill defendant was driving at the rate of 50 miles an hour at the time of the accident; that Mrs. Mussman became wet from the rain at the scene of the accident. The evidence shows without question that she died of pneumonia. There is testimony by a specialist, who did not see Mrs. Mussman at any time, but who testified from data supplied by the hospital record and testimony of physicians who had been attending Mrs. Mussman, which was all in the evidence, that, in his opinion, she did not have pneumonia at the time she started on her journey to the hospital; that the exposure at the time of the accident, especially in her physical condition and lowered resistance, caused the onset of pneumonia, and that it developed within a day after the accident; that, but for the exposure at the scene of the accident, she might not have contracted pneumonia, and that, in his opinion, the cause of the pneumonia was due to exposure at the time of the accident.
In passing, it may be said that there is a sharp conflict in the evidence as to the rate of speed at which
Defendant contends that Mrs. Mussman would have died from septicaemia, or blood poisoning, even if the accident had not occurred, and that the accident had nothing to do with causing her death. It is possible that Mrs. Mussman might have died, had there been no accident; but, if her death was hastened by the negligence of defendant, plaintiff would still be entitled to some recovery. We think there was sufficient evidence to require submission of the cause to the jury, and the court erred in directing a verdict for defendant.
Other errors discussed in the brief are not likely to arise upon another trial and will not be considered.
Reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.