Cominskey v. Connellsville, New Haven & Leisenring Street Railway Co.
Cominskey v. Connellsville, New Haven & Leisenring Street Railway Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The court below would have been entirely justified in granting a nonsuit at the close of the plaintiff’s testimony. The case of the plaintiff was based upon the negligence of the defend-1 ant which consisted in the alleged unusual and unnecessary speed at which the car, which struck the plaintiff’s child and caused its death, was running at the time of the accident. One witness said “the car was moving awful fast,” another “it seemed to me she was running right lively.” Another who was immediately beside the car at the time of the accident says: “ I cannot tell what the speed of the car was, but I noticed the motorman stopping the car as quick as he could.” The testi
There was no error in saying to the jury “ There is no evidence here of any medical attendance paid for, or any expense for burial, and therefore they would not be elements of expense.” If the appellant had paid or was liable to pay for medical attendance or undertaker’s services he should have shown it:
In our view of this case-however it should not have been submitted to the jury. The appellant should not have been permitted to recover either upon his case as he presented it, or as it was developed by the entire testimony.
There is therefore no error of which he can justly complain, and the judgment is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Stephen Cominskey v. The Connellsville, New Haven and Leisenring Street Railway Company
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Negligence — Street railway — Infant—Speed of car. In an action against a street railway to recover damages for death of a child of six years and four months old, run over and killed by a car while playing in the street, it appeared that the child was running the same way with the car with some other children, and that he attempted to run around in front of it. The plaintiff’s case rested upon the allegation that the car was run at undue speed. One of the witnesses testified that “ the car was •going awful fast,” another that “ it seemed to me she was running quite lively,”'another, “I noticed the motorman stopping the car as quick as he could ; ” and the same witness, who was uneontradicted, testified, “ that the car was stopped in half its length.” There was no evidence of want of care on the part of the motorman, either before or after the child had been seen by him. The trial judge left the case to the jury on the question of negligence “ in the fast running of the car and possibly in the unskillfulness of the person having the ear in chai’ge.” The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff of six and one quarter cents. Held, That the defendant was entitled to a compulsory nonsuit, and that the plaintiff had no standing to complain of the charge of the court as inducing an inadequate verdict.