Iseminger v. York Haven Water & Power Co.

Citations

• 206 Pa. 591
• 56 A. 66
• 1903 Pa. LEXIS 767

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Hole in sidewalk — Contributory negligence — Province of court and, jury.</p> <p>Persons walking on city streets are bound to use their eyes and watch where they are going, and failure to do so will defeat a recovery for injuries, that could have been avoided by the exercise of this reasonable care.</p> <p>In an action against a water company to recover damages for personal injuries, it appeared that the plaintiff, a woman, was injured by falling into a hole twenty-four inches in diameter and six feet deep, that had been dug in the pavement of a city street by direction of the defendant. The hole was located almost directly in front of steps that led to the office of a cold storage house, and twenty inches of its diameter were in the sidewalk. In digging the dirt had been thrown into the street and there was nothing on the surface of the pavement to indicate that the hole was there. It was dug in the morning and left unguarded ; the accident occurred in the middle of the afternoon. At this part of the street the distance between the curb and the building line was ten feet, but of this space only four feet nearest the curb line were paved. On the remaining space was a grass plot extending from the west end of the storage house to the office steps, crossed near the middle by a walk leading from the pavement to the engine room. The plaintiff and another woman went together to the storage house on business. They came on the street by way of an alley at the west end of the building, but turned to the east before they reached the pavement and walked on the grass plot to the engine room door. They saw the engineer sitting on the office steps, and walked on to the end of the plot to the paved way leading from the steps to the pavement. Here they stood a short time facing the building and talking to the engineer. Then they turned to the right to go further east on the pavement. In turning the plaintiff took one step backward and sideways, and fell into the ho