Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co. v. Dowd

Citations

• 115 Ill. 659
• 4 N.E. 368
• 1886 Ill. LEXIS 1046

Syllabus

<p>Instruction—in suit to recover for death from negligence—whether to he regarded as stating the law in respect to negligence, or only as fixing the measure of damages. In an action to recover damages for causing the death of the plaintiff’s intestate by negligence, the court, on behalf of the plaintiff, instructed the jury “that if they should find, from the evidence in the case, and under the instructions of the court, that the defendant is guilty of the wrongful act, neglect or default as charged in the plaintiff’s declaration, and that the same resulted in the death of P. D. (the intestate,) then the plaintiff is entitled to recover in this action, for the benefit of the widow and next of kin of such deceased, such damages as the jury may deem, from the evidence and proofs, a fair and just compensation thereof, having reference only to the pecuniary injuries resulting from such death to such widow and next of kin, not exceeding the amount claimed in the declaration.” It was objected that the instruction failed to state the law with regard to comparative negligence, and ignored the question of the care or negligence of the deceased: Held, that the instruction was not to be regarded as one stating the law in respect to negligence, but as relating to the measure of damages in case the plaintiff should recover, and that there was no error in giving the same.</p>