Lovenguth v. City of Bloomington

Citations

• 71 Ill. 238

Syllabus

<p>1. », Negligence — degree of care to be exercised by plaintiff. Where a party knows that a sidewalk is defective, or dangerous, and there is another sidewalk over which he can pass, which is in good repair, and safe, if he chooses to pass over the dangerous one, he should do so in a careful and guarded manner, and if he fails to do so, but passes over it in a hasty and reckless manner, and. in so doing, is injured, a jury may very reasonably conclude that he is himself responsible for the injury.</p> <p>2. Same—a party has no right to recover who knowingly exposes himself to danger, which he could avoid. An instruction to the effect that the plaintiff' was not bound to travel on another sidewalk than the one on which he received the injury complained of, even though he knew that the one on which he was injured was out of repair, was properly refused. A party has no right to knowingly expose himself to danger, and then recover damages for an injury which he might have avoided by the use of reasonable precaution.</p> <p>3. Ebbob will not always reverse. A judgment will not be reversed on account of an instruction given which is not applicable to the case, where it appears it could do no harm, and the party objecting to it has not been prejudiced by it.</p>