McKelvey v. Juniata Borough

Citations

• 265 Pa. 56
• 108 A. 205
• 1919 Pa. LEXIS 495

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Boroughs—-Defective street- — Notice—Constructive notice — Contributory negligence.</p> <p>1. In an action against a borough by a woman to recover damages for personal injuries suffered by falling into a hole in a street, the case is for the jury, and a verdict and judgment for the plaintiff will be sustained, where it appears that the accident happened at night time in a highway opened as a public thoroughfare in which there were no sidewalks; that plaintiff fell into a hole nearly three feet deep, and about two feet from a path in the street along which she was walking; that the hole had been made by a natural gas company about a year before, and that the hole existed substantially at the depth which it was found to be at the time of the accident, for at least a month previous; and that defendant’s superintendent of streets visited the locality a short time before the accident, and at that time saw the defective condition of the street.</p> <p>2. In such a case, the fact that the location of the street was in the outskirts of the borough and little used, although a matter to be considered in determining the extent of the borough’s duty, did not relieve the borough from its obligation of maintaining the highway in a reasonably safe condition for public travel under all the circumstances.</p> <p>3. The plaintiff in such a case cannot be charged with contributory negligence as a matter of law, where it appears that although she had used the street “pretty often” she had not observed its dangerous condition, because the defect was hidden by weeds growing along the edge of the path.</p>