Pascagoula Street Railway & Power Co. v. Brondum

Citations

• 96 Miss. 28
• 50 So. 97

Syllabus

<p>1. Steeet Railways. Collisions. Evidence. Injury resulting from moving ears. Code 1906, § 1985. Presumption.</p> <p>Code 1906, § 1985, providing that, in actions against railroads for damages to persons or property, proof of injury inflicted by the running of locomotives or cars shall be prima facie evidence of want of reasonable care, does not apply to a street railroad.</p> <p>2. Same. Construction of trade,. Negligence.</p> <p>The rails of all street railways ought to be flush with the surface of the street or road on which they are laid.</p> <p>.3. Same. Appeals. Harmless error. Erroneous instruction.</p> <p>Where, in an action against a street railway company for the death of a child struck by a car, the evidence showed that the child either stumbled over a rail negligently allowed to be elevated above the surface of the street, and was struck by the car, or was struck by the car without having stumbled, while the car was negligently operated, the error in an instruction announcing that the death of the child by the running of the car was prima facie evidence of negligence, authorizing a recovery, etc., was not prejudicial.</p> <p>4. Same. Negligence. Contributory negligence. Children.</p> <p>A child six years of age, killed by a street car, cannot be charged with contributory negligence, so as to defeat an action by the parents for negligent death.</p>