Mulligan v. Homestead Borough

Citations

• 243 Pa. 361
• 90 A. 71
• 1914 Pa. LEXIS 629

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Boroughs — Dangerous sidewalks — Barbed wire fence — Infants—Contributory negligence — Case for jury.</p> <p>1. The measure of a child’s responsibility for his own injuries in an accident caused by negligence is his capacity to see and appreciate danger, and while the measure varies with each additional year, the standard is the average capacity of others of his age and intelligence.</p> <p>2. In an action against a borough to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff, a girl eleven and a half years old, as the result of coming in contact with the loose ends of a barbed wire fence extending over a narrow sidewalk upon which plaintiff was walking in the dusk of evening, where the negligence of the defendant was admitted, but it was contended that plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence in using such sidewalk, when a safe and convenient way on another street was opened to her, the court did not err in submitting the case to the jury under an instruction to the effect that the child should be held only to the degree of care that was ordinarily to be expected of a child of her age.</p>