Hitz v. Pittsburgh & Butler Street Railway Co.

Citations

• 245 Pa. 7
• 91 A. 215
• 1914 Pa. LEXIS 819

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Street railways — Collision — Personal injuries— Damages — Excessive damages — Evidence—Loss of earning power —New trial — Act of May 20, 1891, P. L. 101.</p> <p>1. The power conferred by the Act of May 20, 1891, P. L. 101, upon the Supreme Court to reverse the judgment of the court below on the ground that damages awarded are excessive, will not be exercised except in extreme cases where the injustice of allowing an excessive verdict to stand is so manifest as to show a clear abuse of discretion by the trial court.</p> <p>2. In an action against a street railway company to recover damages for personal injuries sustained in a collision of one of defendant’s cars with a wagon on which the plaintiff was riding, it was not error for the court to refuse to grant a new trial on the ground that a verdict of $4,000 was excessive where it appeared that the plaintiff’s head and back were injured in the collision; that he was unconscious for nearly an hour after the accident and had since suffered from constant headaches and insomnia; that the injuries to his head had seriously impaired the sight of one eye, and the removal of the eye might be necessary; and that the injury to his back so weakened it that he was unable to do more than half the work he did before, or to do heavy work of any kind, it further appearing that plaintiff had suffered considerable pain, suffering and inconvenience, which was likely to continue in the future.</p>