Sellers v. Union Traction Co.

Citations

• 21 Pa. Super. 5
• 1902 Pa. Super. LEXIS 296

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Street railways — Netting on car — Summer car — Defeat in street — Contributory negligence.</p> <p>It is the duty of every pedestrian on a public highway to use reasonable care for his own safety, and to avoid an open and apparent danger. He who fails to meet this standard of duty is guilty of negligence.</p> <p>In an action against a street railway company to recover damages impersonal injuries, it appeared that the plaintiff about noon of a clear day wishing to take a west-bound ear of the defendant company hailed an approaching one, which was of the summer type, having a running board along the side affording a means of entrance along the entire length of the side. The crossing of the street for pedestrians was composed of three parallel lines of flagstones. The defendant company maintained a circular manhole twenty-eight inches in diameter for the purpose of affording access to its underground wires, which was outside of and eleven inches distant from the north rail of its west-bound track, and the eastern edge of which was six feet west from the middle one of the three rows of flagstone crossings. This manhole was usually covered by an iron plate level with the street, but at the time in question the employees of the defendant company had removed the cover and were engaged in work at the opening. There was a covered dearborn wagon standing close to the north curb of the street and just west of the crossing, so that the opening in the street could not be seen by a person standing upon the sidewalk at the corner, but there was an unoccupied space of five or six feet between the dearborn wagon and the north rail of the track. The plaintiff having hailed the car walked out to the track on the middle row of the flagstone crossing; the car gradually slackened its speed and the plaintiff knowing that it had not stopped caught hold of the hand rails and walked along the street sideways intending to get on to the car when it should come to a full stop; h