Caffrey v. Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co.
Caffrey v. Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co.
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
The plaintiff, a pedestrian, standing on the sidewalk where she had the lawful right to be, was struck by the rear end of a trolley car belonging to and operated by the defendant company, and sustained the injuries for which damages are sought to be recovered in this action. The accident occurred at the southéast corner of Eleventh street and Columbia avenue at which point plaintiff was standing waiting for the car to pass in order that she might cross the street. The car was running north on Eleventh street, but the rear truck took the switch at
' The accident' was such ás in the ordinary "course of things would not have occurred if due care had been exercised and the facts established at the trial were sufficient to warrant an inference of the want of' reasonable care. The defendant company was therefore put on proof of such circumstances as to exculpate it from
It is but just to the trial judge to say that in his opinion the case was for the jury, but he felt constrained to follow Zercher v. Rapid Transit Co., 50 Pa. Superior Ct. 324. The cases are not parallel on their facts, and in the present case the evidence shbwed that cars had jumped the same switch on prior occasions. This was sufficient to put defendant on notice of a defect in the switch and also to warrant an inference that the defective switch caused the accident.
Judgment reversed and a venire facias de novo awarded.
Reference
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- Caffrey v. Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company
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- Syllabus
- Negligence—Street railways—Car jumping track — Switch—• Pedestrian on sidewalk—Evidence—Burden of producing evidence —Case for jury. 1. In an action against ia street railway company to recover damages for personal injuries, the court erred in refusing to take off a compulsory nonsuit where it appeared that plaintiff was standi ing on a public sidewalk when the rear end of a street car jumped the track, when the truck striking the switch, swung out over the sidewalk and struck the plaintiff, and there was evidence that cars had jumped the track at such switch on several prior occasions. 2. In such case there was no burden on the plaintiff to affirmatively prove the particular act or acts of negligence which caused the car to jump the track. The jury could infer that a defective switch caused the accident from the facts that the cár did jump the track at the switch, and that the same thing had occurred on several prior occasions.