Branagan v. Public Service Railway Co.
Branagan v. Public Service Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
This was an action for personal injuries. The plaintiff was a conductor upon a trolley car of the defendant company which was running over the elevated structure at its Hoboken terminal at the time of the happening of the accident. The trolley pole having jumped the wire the plaintiff got off his ear and went to the rear of it for the purpose of replacing the pole. While engaged in this work a following car ran into Mm, injuring him so severely as to necessitate the amputation of one of his legs. His claim was that the company was responsible for his injuries because of the fact that the controller box upon the following car was not in good order, and evidence to substantiate this claim was submitted to the jury on Ms behalf. He further offered evidence to show that if this controller box had been in proper order the motorman upon the following car would have been able to stop it before colliding with him. He further proved that the defective condition of the controller box could have been readily discovered by a proper inspection. All of these facts were controverted by testimony submitted on the part of the defendant. At the close of the case the direction of a verdict in its favor was asked upon the ground that no negligence on the part of the defendant had been proved; that the plaintiff himself was guilty of contributory negligence; and that the injuries received by him were due to the negligence of a
The jiidgment under review will be affirmed.
For affirmance — -The Chief Justice, Garrison, Swayze, T.RENCHARD, PARKER, BERGEN, VoORHEES, KaLISCH, VrEdenburgh, Congdon, White, Terhune, Heppenheimer, JJ. 13.
For reversal — None.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- JOHN BARNET BRANAGAN v. PUBLIC SERVICE RAILWAY COMPANY
- Status
- Published