Leitzell v. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad

Citations

• 232 Pa. 475
• 81 A. 543
• 1911 Pa. LEXIS 747

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Measure of damages — Cure by simple operation — Points for charge.</p> <p>1. In an action to recover damages for personal injuries evidence as to the probability of a cure of an otherwise permanent injury by means of a simple surgical operation is not to be received in mitigation of damages but as a proper method of showing the actual damages sustained.</p> <p>2. In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, where the plaintiff alleged a permanent injury to his knee, and the defendant introduced evidence tending to show that the injury could be cured by a surgical operation to which a reasonably prudent man ought to submit, it, was held that the court should have affirmed without qualification a point for defendant reading, “If the jury believe that the condition of the plaintiff can be relieved by a simple surgical operation which an ordinarily prudent man would undergo, such fact must be taken into consideration as an element which would reduce the amount of damages to which the plaintiff would otherwise be entitled,” and that it was error for the court to answer the point by saying, “The point is affirmed, providing the jury find that the proposed surgical operation is not a serious or dangerous one, and one that can be performed without any risk of failure or danger to the plaintiff. Otherwise, it is refused.”</p>