Hammaker v. Watts Township

Citations

• 71 Pa. Super. 554
• 1919 Pa. Super. LEXIS 151

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Death of minor child — Damages—Measure of damages — New trial.</p> <p>More than nominal damages are recoverable for the death of a child, where the verdict of a jury establishes the culpable negligence of the defendant, and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the child’s death. The law regards human life as having pecuniary value to those injured by its untimely ending, through the negligence of others, and is not too exacting in measuring the standard of such value. Where there is evidence of the child’s age, good health, bright mental condition, etc., before the jury a verdict awarding nominal damages only to its parents should not be sustained.</p> <p>Negligence — Damages—Inadequate verdict — New trial.</p> <p>Where the evidence establishes the negligence of the defendant, and that such negligence was the proximate cause of a child’s death, and there is ample evidence before the jury of her good health, bright mental condition, etc., a verdict fixing the pecuniary value of the child’s life at the amount expended for its burial, is so unreasonable and disproportionate to the value of human life, that it raises an inference that it must have been influenced by partiality, or prejudice, or some misconception of the law or the evidence. In such case it is the duty of the trial judge, in the exercise of his judicial discretion, to award a new trial, and failure to do so constitutes reversible error.</p>