O'Donovan v. Philadelphia Co.

Citations

• 223 Pa. 234
• 72 A. 527
• 1909 Pa. LEXIS 513

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Explosion of gas — Evidence—Approximate cause — Question for fury.</p> <p>Where the only evidence as to the cause of an explosion of natural gas, which injured plaintiff’s house, is such as is derived by inference from conditions existing after the occurrence, and these conditions suggest several causes, either of which operating by itself would be adequate to the result, and the defendant is without responsibility except as to one, there can be no recovery unless the conditions point to the cause to which defendant’s responsibility attaches, with such a degree of certainty as would justify a jury in finding it to be the approximate cause. If, however, it appears that on the day before the accident there was a break in the main which caused gas to enter plaintiff’s house, that this break was repaired before the accident, that three days after the accident gas again escaped at the point where the break occurred, and an examination showed that the repair had been negligently done, the case is for the jury.</p>