Fornwalt v. Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co.

Citations

• 65 Pa. Super. 559
• 1917 Pa. Super. LEXIS 42

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Street railways — Passenger—Sudden jerk of car.</p> <p>In an action by a woman passenger against a street railway company to recover damages for a fracture and sprain of a thumb, no recovery can be had against the company where the only witness who described the accident is the plaintiff, and she testifies that the car was standing when she got on, that she paid her fare and started to walk back in the car when “with a sudden jerk of the car it threw me, and I went to protect myself from falling to the floor, struck my hand on the end of the seat and sustained the fracture.”</p> <p>In such a case it is error for the trial judge to refuse to charge that unless the evidence shows that the jerk was unusual and extraordinary, the verdict must be for the defendant.</p> <p>There is no presumption of negligence arising from the use of the words “sudden jerk.”</p>