Behling v. Seattle Electric Co.

Citations

• 50 Wash. 150
• 96 P. 954
• 1908 Wash. LEXIS 686

Syllabus

<p>Carriers — Injury to Passengers — Sudden Jerks — Actions—Instructions. In an action against a street car company for injuries sustained by a passenger by reason of a sudden unusual jerk in starting, it is proper to refuse to instruct that some lurching or jerking was well known to be necessary for the operation of electric cars, and that plaintiff could not recover unless the court believed that there was lurching or jerking out of the ordinary, or such as would indicate negligent operation, where it was not claimed that the car could be operated without some jerking, and other instructions sufficiently recognized that the only issue for the jury relating to the movement of the car was whether the same was unusual.</p> <p>Same — Degree op Care — Instructions. An instruction to the effect that a street car company is bound to exercise the highest degree of care reasonably practicable to see that an entering passenger has ample opportunity to be in a place of safety before starting the car, is not objectionable as declaring the rule that it is negligence per se to start a car before a passenger has secured a seat, where it is immediately followed by instructions making it clear that the questions before the jury were whether the plaintiff used reasonable care for her own safety and whether the company in starting the car exercised the highest degree of care reasonably practicable under the conditions existing.</p>