City of Bradford v. Downs

Citations

• 126 Pa. 622
• 17 A. 884
• 1889 Pa. LEXIS 920

Syllabus

<p>1. In an action by a father to recover for personal injuries to a minor son, the narr set out that the injuries were incurable and permanent, averring damages for loss of services, medical and other expenses. It was not error to allow the plaintiff to file an amended narr alleging that the child died in consequence of said injuries, the damages averred being the same as in the original narr.</p> <p>2. In such action, the son having died, declarations made by him some time after the accident as to how he had received his injuries, not being part of the res gestas, were inadmissible to defeat the rights of the father, which were independent of the injuries to the son and unaffected by anything the son could say.</p> <p>(a) A child under 8 years of age fell through a hole in a platform erected by an abutting owner on the side of a highway ordained a city street about ten weeks before. In the father’s action against the city for the injuries received, the plaintiff testified that at the time of the accident he knew that the platform was in bad condition and saw the child upon it just before he fell into the hole.</p> <p>3. Under all the evidence, it was proper to submit to the jury the question whether the city had notice of the defect causing the injury, and to charge that contributory negligence could not be attributed to the child, and that the fact that the child did not receive proper care and treatment, if true as alleged, would not entirely defeat recovery, but might reduce the amount of damages.</p>