Lautenschlager v. City of Seattle

Citations

• 77 Wash. 12
• 137 P. 323
• 1913 Wash. LEXIS 1887

Syllabus

<p>Municipal Coepoeations — Steeets — Defective Sidewalks — Negligence of City — Contbibutoby Negligence — Evidence — Question fob Juey. The negligence of a city in maintaining a temporary sidewalk six inches lower than the cement walk with which it connected at a street intersection, is for the jury, where it appears that the temporary walk had been so maintained for several months, that the street lights were so placed as to cast a shadow upon the offset, and the street was not closed to travel, and no warnings were posted; since it was the duty of the city to close the street or take reasonable precautions where it undertakes to improve a street.</p> <p>Same — Steeets—Defective Sidewalks — Contbibutoby Negligence —Evidence—Question fob Juey. The contributory negligence of a pedestrian in falling at night at a street intersection, or in failing to take a safer way, is for the jury, where there was a drop of six inches from a cement sidewalk to a temporary board walk, where improvements were in progress, no warnings were posted, and the street lights were so placed as to throw a shadow obscuring the offset, and the walk on the other side of the street had obstructions and red lights hung out; since a traveler may use any street that is open for travel.</p> <p>Same — Defects in Steeets — Liability of Conteactob — Evidence —Sufficiency. A street contractor doing the cement work in a street is not liable for an injury sustained by a pedestrian by reason of an offset of six inches in a temporary board sidewalk at a street intersection, where he had done no work in the sidewalk area and it did not appear who had constructed the board walk.,</p>