Clark v. Allegheny County

Citations

• 260 Pa. 199
• 103 A. 552
• 1918 Pa. LEXIS 493

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Municipalities—Counties—Roads—Repairs — Culvert — Absence of guard rail — Pedestrian—Fall—Acts of June 26, 1895, P. L. 886, and May 11, 1911, P. L. 2^4 — Contributory negligence — Case for jury.</p> <p>1. A statutory mandate to repair a road or bridge imposes upon the municipality so charged liability for injuries occasioned by reason of its failure to repair such road or bridge.</p> <p>2. The Acts of June 26, 1895, P. L. 336, and May 11, 1911, P. L. 244, relieving township authorities from all duty and responsibility in respect to the care, maintenance and repair of all roads improved under the provisions of such acts and making such roads county roads have the effect of imposing liability on the county for injuries occasioned by breach of the duty to repair.</p> <p>3. Whether a county is bound to put up a guard rail at a particular point on a road under its control depends upon the circumstances of each ease.</p> <p>4. In an action by a pedestrian against a county to recover damages for personal injuries occasioned by stepping off a county road .at a point where a small stream ran under it through a culvert, the case was for the jury and a verdict and judgment for plaintiff will be sustained, where it appears that there was no guard rail on either side of the road at such point, that the night was so dark and foggy that plaintiff could not see where he was going, that he heard a vehicle approaching and in order to avoid it took a step or two from what he supposed to be the middle of the road and fell into the stream at the side of the road.</p>