Halverson v. Seattle Electric Co.

Citations

• 35 Wash. 600
• 77 P. 1058
• 1904 Wash. LEXIS 486

Syllabus

<p>Carriers — Negligence—Speed oe Street Cab — Motorman as Expert Witness. Upon an issue as to negligence in running a street car around a curve at a dangerous rate of speed, a motorman is qualified as an expert to answer questions as to what rate of speed would, in his opinion, be safe, where he testifies that he was familiar with the road throughout its entire length and knew the curve, that he had been a motorman on this line for six or seven months, and was familiar with the speed of cars; the matter of qualification resting largely in the discretion of the court.</p> <p>Death — Damages to Widow — Evidence—Earning Capacity oe Husband’s Business — Statements Irrespective oe Books — Best Evidence. In an action by a widow for damages for the death of her husband, where the wife had been associated with him in, and was familiar with the amount of, his business, as a photographer, it is competent, upon the subject of the damages, for the wife to testify that he was earning about $2,000 per year, without producing the books, her estimate being based thereon and on her knowledge of the business, since the books, while the best evidence of their contents, are only secondary evidence of the income of the business.</p> <p>Carriers — Negligence—Speed oe Street Car — Evidence—Experiments — Similarity oe Conditions — Discretion. Upon an issue as to negligence in' running a street car around a curve at a dangerous rate of speed, it is not an abuse of discretion to refuse to admit the result of experiments made with the same car at a time when the conditions were different from those existing at the time of the accident, in that the time of day, the load on the car, the load on the electric current, and the condition of the rails were different; and the fact that the conditions were more favorable to the plaintiff than to the defendant does not make such exclusion error, since the same was within the sound discretion of the court, to be reviewed only for abuse.</p> <p>Appeal —