Benson v. Altoona & Logan Valley Electric Railway Co.

Citations

• 228 Pa. 290
• 77 A. 492
• 1910 Pa. LEXIS 479

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — P ersonal injuries — Evidence—M edical examination— Baring parts of the body.</p> <p>1. Where the plaintiff in an accident case has submitted to a private physical examination by three physicians representing the defendant, and they are prepared to give their testimony as to the marks upon the plaintiff’s body, the latter will not be required to bare parts of his body for the examination of the jury.</p> <p>Practice, C. P. — Trial—Remarks of counsel.</p> <p>2. Where counsel makes no request for the withdrawal of a juror because of an improper remark of his adversary, it will be assumed that he is satisfied with a warning given by the trial judge to the jury to disregard the objectionable remark.</p> <p>Negligence — Damages—Loss of earning power — Probability of life — Permanent injury — Evidence.</p> <p>3. On the trial of an accident case where the evidence tends to show a permanent loss of earning power by the plaintiff, and his health is discussed by numerous medical experts on each side, and it appears that before the accident he had been in good health, and that since the accident he had not been able to work, it is not error for the trial judge to tell the jury that they could “look at this man and determine on the weight of the evidence from his appearance and from the evidence how long ho would be likely to live, and if his injuries are permanent, then he ought to be compensated for the loss of earning power.”</p> <p>4. While life tables are admissible in evidence, the probability of life can be shown in other ways.</p> <p>Negligence — Damages—Charge—Use of figures.</p> <p>5. While the use of figures by way of illustration in charging the jury as to a method of ascertaining the present value of a loss of future earnings is dangerous practice, yet such use is not a ground for reversal, if the judge tells the jury that he is only using the figures by way of illustration, and that he did not want them to think that he was figuring on any verdict,