Nichols v. Pittsfield Township

Citations

• 209 Pa. 240
• 58 A. 283
• 1904 Pa. LEXIS 598

Syllabus

<p>Negligence—Roads—Township—Unguarded embankment—Fright of horse— Proximate and remote cause—Nonsuit.</p> <p>In an action by a woman against a township to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by being thrown from a buggy into an unguarded ditch on the side of a public road, a nonsuit is properly entered where the evidence shows that plaintiff’s horse became frightened on the main street of a neighboring town, that plaintiff there lost control of him, that the horse turned against plaintiff’s will into the road where the accident occurred, that after the horse had run down this road some 300 feet, the noise of a nearby train caused him suddenly to whirl around and run backward towards the town, to the point whére the accident occurred.</p> <p>Where the proximate cause of an accident on a public highway is not the result of any defect in the highway or of any neglect of duty on the part of the supervisors of the township in which the accident occurred, but is caused by the fright of a horse, no action can be maintained against the municipality.</p> <p>To impute a failure of duty on the part of a township where it has provided a public road suitable for the ordinary use of the same because it failed to provide for the possible contingency that might arise from the fright of a horse not connected in any manner with any defect in the roadway, would be to impose a duty far beyond any reasonable requirements and without a substantial reason therefor. Per Thompson, J.</p>