Whaley v. Citizens' National Bank

Citations

• 28 Pa. Super. 531
• 1905 Pa. Super. LEXIS 239

Syllabus

<p>Negligence — Nuisance—Electric shock — Street—Master and servant.</p> <p>Where a national bank facing on a public street extends a brass rail in front of its window four or five feet above the sidewalk, for the purpose of protecting the window and the front of the building from persons congregating on the sidewalk, and connects the rail with an electric battery controlled and operated inside the bank building, the bank will be liable in damages for personal injuries sustained by a person receiving a shock from contact with the rail, and this is the case where the injury is received at night, and at a time when only the janitor of the bank was in the building. Such a recovery may be sustained either on the ground that the bank was negligent in leaving a dangerous appliance in a condition to be operated by a servant or stranger, or on the ground that it was maintaining a nuisance in a public street.</p> <p>In such a case if the evidence is conflicting as to whether or not the battery was capable of inflicting the injury complained of, the case is for the jury.</p> <p>If the injury was caused by the janitor operating the battery, it is no defense that he had positive orders not to use or meddle with the apparatus.</p> <p>Negligence committed by a servant in the course of his employment, although he act without the knowledge or contrary to the wishes of the master, renders the master liable.</p> <p>A man cannot so manage a nuisance created by himself, as to escape damages because he was careful in operating it.</p> <p>Appeals — Assignments of error — Evidence.</p> <p>The appellate court will not consider an assignment of error to the admission of evidence or to a refusal to withdraw evidence, where the evidence in question is not quoted in connection with the assignment.</p>