Kestner v. Pittsburgh & Birmingham Traction Co.
Kestner v. Pittsburgh & Birmingham Traction Co.
Opinion of the Court
So long as a common user of streets exists in the public, it is the duty of street railway companies to exercise such watchful care as will prevent accidents or injuries to persons who, without negligence on their own part, may not at the moment be able to get out of the way of a passing car. The degree of care to be .exercised must necessarily vary with the circumstances of each case: Gilmore v. Passenger Railway, 153 Pa. 31. There was evidence of want of proper care in this ease, which required submission to the jury; and this was done with proper instructions. The questions of fact, upon which plaintiff’s right to recover depended, having been thus properly submitted to the jury, and by them determined in his favor, there is nothing in the record that would justify us in disturbing the judgment entered on their verdict.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
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- Kestner v. Pittsburgh & Birmingham Traction Company
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- Syllabus
- Negligence — Street railways — Common user of streets. So long as a common user of streets exists in the public, it is the duty of street l’ailway companies to exercise such watchful care as will prevent accidents or injuries to persons who, without negligence on their own part, may not at the moment be able to get out of the way of a passing car. The degree of care to be exercised must necessarily vary with the circumstances of each case. In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, evidence for plaintiff tended to show that he hitched his horse and wagon near the curbstone of a street at a point where there was not room enough for the car to pass without hitting the wagon, and thata motorman, disregarding his signal to stop the car until he could unhitch his horse, drove the car into the wagon, and caused the injuries complained of. The evidence for defendant tended to show that there was sufficient room for the car to pass, but that the horse became frightened as the car was passing, and turned the wagon, so that it was struck by the ear. Held, that the case was for the jury.