Dynes v. Bromley

Citations

• 208 Pa. 633
• 57 A. 1123
• 1904 Pa. LEXIS 816

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Infants—Contributory negligence — Master and servant — Question for jury.</p> <p>The measure of a boy’s responsibility for contributory negligence is his capacity to understand and avoid danger. The standard of responsibility to which, in the absence of evidence on the subject, he will be held is' the average capacity of others of the same age. Since his responsibility depends upon his knowledge and experience and upon the character of the danger to which he is exposed, the question is generally one for the jury. It must always be for them where there is doubt as to the facts or as to the inferences to be drawn from them.</p> <p>In an action by a boy thirteen years and four months old against his employer, to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by plaintiff’s clothes being caught in a dangerous machine, the evidence for plaintiff tended to show that the dangerous character of the work had not been explained to him. It also appeared that the danger of a boy’s clothes being wrapped around a shaft, the rapidity of whose motion gave it the appearance of being stationary, or of their being caught by a projecting screw of which the boy probably knew nothing, was not obvious to anyone unfamiliar with machinery. Held, that the case was for the jury, and that a verdict and judgment for plaintiff should be sustained.</p>