Kyle v. Southern Electric Light & Power Co.

Citations

• 174 Pa. 570
• 34 A. 323
• 1896 Pa. LEXIS 927

Syllabus

<p>• Negligence — Injury by fall of electric light pole — Evidence—Question for jury. ■</p> <p>In an action to recover damages for personal injuries to a child eleven years old, caused by the fall of an electric light pole, the case is for the jury where the evidence showed that the pole was thirty-five feet in length, and from twelve to fifteen inches in diameter; that its weight was from twelve to fifteen hundred pounds; that the evidence for the plaintiff showed that there were but three men employed in lowering the pole, while the evidence for defendant showed that there were eight engaged in the work; that the pole was crooked, and that this increased the danger in lowering it; that the pole turned while the men were in the act of lowering it, which was one of the causes of their failure to retain control of it; that there were other and safer methods of taking down poles than the one employed, but that they were not usually resorted to in taking down small poles; that the defendant claimed that the falling of the pole was attributable solely to the nature of the ground in which it was set.</p> <p>Practice, C. P. — Charge of court — Assignments of error.</p> <p>The general effect of the charge of the court rather than a casual expression in it must govern the interpretation or construction of it.</p> <p>In an action to recover damages for personal injuries where the court has charged that the damages' should be limited to compensation for the pain suffered, it is not error for the court to say “thereis no rule of law or morals, nothing but your common sense to guide you; and all that the court can do is to admonish the jury to be fair and just as between the parties, and to admonish them that extravagance either in giving too much or giving too little will not be tolerated by the court.”</p>