Gilkey v. Waverly, Sayre & Athens Traction Co.

Citations

• 240 Pa. 528
• 87 A. 851
• 1913 Pa. LEXIS 708

Syllabus

<p>Negligence injuries — Street railways — Contributory negligence— Passenger alighting from car — Charge of court.</p> <p>1. In an action by a passenger against a street railway company to recover damages for personal injuries, the case is for the jury where plaintiff and other witnesses testify that the open summer car upon which plaintiff was'a passenger had stopped at an intersecting street and was started with a sudden jerk while plaintiff was attempting to step from the running board and that plaintiff did not get up from her seat for the purpose of leaving the car until it had come to a full stop.</p> <p>2. Where in such a case some of the witnesses testify that the car stopped at the intersecting street named as the stopping place by the- plaintiff and others testify that the car stopped at an intersecting street 126 feet farther on, the court commits no error in charging that it did not “make very much difference” whether the car stopped at the one street or the other. The crucial question in such a case is, did the car stop for the purpose of allowing plaintiff to alight and was it suddenly started while she was in the act of stepping from the running board? The right of the plaintiff to recover does not depend upon the exact spot where the car stopped, but upon proof that it did stop for the pujóse of allowing the plaintiff to get off, and was then suddenly started while she was in the act of alighting.</p> <p>3. As the only contributory negligence involved in such a case is the alleged attempt to alight from the car while it was in motion, there is no merit in the complaint that the trial judge failed to fully define contributory negligence, where the jury were instructed that if plaintiff undertook to get off the ear while it was in motion, she was guilty of contributory negligence and could not recover, and this is especially so' where at the conclusion of his charge the trial judge asked whether there was anything further' that counsel wished him to.s