Patterson Coal & Supply Co. v. Pittsburg Railways Co.

Citations

• 37 Pa. Super. 212
• 1908 Pa. Super. LEXIS 265

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Street railways — Breaking of trolley wire — Killing of horses — Presumption—Evidence.</p> <p>An action against a street railway company to recover damages for the death of two horses, cannot be sustained where the only evidence offered by the plaintiff is that a trolley wire broke, fell upon the horses passing beneath it, and killed them. In such a case the maxim res ipsa loquitur has no application.</p> <p>The maxim res ipsa loquitur is in itself the expression of an exception to the general rule that negligence is not to be inferred but to be proved affirmatively. The ordinary application of the maxim is limited to cases of an absolute duty, or an obligation practically amounting to that of an insurer. Cases not coming under one or both of these heads must be those in which the circumstances are free from dispute and show, not only that they were under the exclusive control of the defendant, but that in the ordinary course of experience, no such result follows as that complained of.</p>