McFadden v. City of Philadelphia

Citations

• 248 Pa. 83
• 93 A. 827
• 1915 Pa. LEXIS 516

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Freight elevator — Customary use by employees— Contributory negligence — Proximate cause — Effort to escape danger — Case for jury — Evidence—Relevancy.</p> <p>1. In an action against an employer to recover damages for death of plaintiff’s husband, the case is for the jury and a verdict for the plaintiff will be sustained where it appeared that at tbe. time of tbe accident 'decedent was riding on a turntable on a freight elevator,', under defendant’s ■ control and customarily used by defendant’s .employees, that- while the elevator was in transit the turntable-, due to defects .in the elevator of which deceased was ignorant, tilted and swayed and plaintiff was killed in an effort to escape the^apparent danger.</p> <p>2. In such case the fact that decedent would not have been injured if he had not attempted to escape from the elevator, is not material, where it appeared that he was in good faith endeavoring to escape ,an apparent danger.</p> <p>3. In such ..case, .where it appeared that no method was provided by which the elevator could be stopped in transit by the men riding thereon, and that such lack of control increased the danger to men riding on the elevator, the trial judge made no error in admitting evidence to show that such method was not that in customary uáe. • ...... ■</p>