Carter v. New Orleans Railway & Light Co.

6 Pelt. 236
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJuly 1, 1922
DocketNO. 8536
StatusPublished

This text of 6 Pelt. 236 (Carter v. New Orleans Railway & Light Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter v. New Orleans Railway & Light Co., 6 Pelt. 236 (La. Ct. App. 1922).

Opinion

Dinkelspiel; J.

Plaintiff institutes this suit against the defendants, alleging that he was a passenger on a Louisiana Avenue oar, end having paid his fare to his destination, he was entitled to be carefully carried and set down at the place where he Intended to alight; he alleges -further that when said oar reaohed Canal end St. Charles Streets and oame to a stop he oame on the rear platform of said oar and was about to step down when the oar started off, throwing his hip against the steps of the oar, from which he sustained a óoáminuted fracture of the hip bone, and the defendant company violated its contract of xslxL transportation.

The answer of the Railway Company admitted that plaintiff was á passenger, as o-llegeA by.him in his petition; but plaintiff avers that whatever injuries the/«»i£xp**wx» may have reoelved, be brought setae upon himself by his oarelessness, negligence.. and imprudent oonduot in alighting from the moving oar under oiroumsta: then existing end if injured he Is without right to reoover for the injuries by .him sustained, because -of his own fault and therefore prays for a judgment in its favor.

The Rational Surety Company, made one of the defend- ■ a.nts in this case, denies all the allegations of plaintiff s ' petition; admits th’.-t it was a surety for the sum of ISOOO.OO, • but affirms and adopts for ito further answer, the facts as alleged by the Railway Company, in its proper defense and aslcs for judgment.

There was a trial in this case by jury, nine. of. whoa found a- verdict in favor of plaintiff, -in the sum of Jive Thous-' ’and Dollars; henos -this appeal.

A careful examination of all the testimoay in this • case satisfies us that plaintiff was a passenger on a Louisiana Avenue oar on the date mentioned in hi? ..petition, October 26th^-:" 1920, when the oar reached, as he-thought^ StV' Gharles and .Canal' Stréets, át which piaos hewanted. -to,;allght»’■

[238]*238He testifies that the oar stopped there and as he r- ..is out of the oor and before he got a ohanoe to rea.oh the ground sufficiently, the oar started off and he lost hie balones end fell; he further testifies that when he asme out of the i or th t the conductor was on the inside writing in a book,and as plaintiff was about to step on the steps, the oar took a sudden lurch and threw him on his hip and orushed it, and he further testifies that the oar had stoppedj-end he esme out of the o?r, passing right by the oondnotor, and the oonduotor he was about to step down on the steps wheiyi® rang the bell and that the starting of the oar threw him out and he fell on his hip and hit his hip on the steps, not giving him a oh-, nee to reach the ground before the bell rang; he described his injuries, his sufferings, the attentions paid to him by his-plr'sicians, rhe time tlv:t he lost from his work, the amount of wages he was earning per week,and at the time of the trial of this case he was still suffering and unable to work.

The testimony of Chris Bates, after describing the crowd of people, th-1 he sow, he saw a men on the floor, just " s the c-.r was fixing to cross and the osr had stopped and he s■■it the oar o rein pull off and that somebody fell and he would h’-ve gone to plaintiff's rescue if he hsd recognized him, he fell from the back platform and after the o?r had pulled off and stopped age in; this was right across the crossing, at St. Charles Street and just '13 the osr pulled a-cross the treok it stopped, he testifies further that at the time he did not know that plaintiff was Injured or that he knew who he was; subsequently met his wife -whom he had known for a long time acmdsta and when she informed him the.táhe was going to the hospital and he inquired why, she said that her husband got hurt by a fall from a oar at St. Charles and Ce-nal' .Street^end after some other conversation, he informed the women that he was [239]*239standing at the oar the time the accident happened, hut he did not knoYt th:.t his friend Carter hud been hurt ,-nd th:t he knew .otherwise all e,bout the affair.

Q. How just describe how the accident happened?
A. Well it hadbeen drizzling rain^nd it was awful sloppy, when the oar-neared St. Charles StreetTwe were going very slow ^and the man stepped off the. oar, and when he did^ he looked like he made a step and fell on the ground on one leg, and then of course we went to the corner, about thirty feet, end stopped, and he did not get up and I went back and picked him up, and he said: nI must have broke my leg” and then the motorman came out and helped me carry him on the oar, and we took him on the hack of the oar and subsequently me ambulance came and carried him, doubtless to the hospital.
Q. Had you given the signal for the oar to stop at that corner or is it customary for it to stop without a signal?
A. It is customary to stop without signals on the near aide of the crossing.
Q. When did you give the signal for the car to go ahead?
A. After we got him on.
Q.. Did you give any signal for the oar to go ahead as he was getting off?
A. Ho sir.
Q. And was the oar moving or stopped when he got off?
A. The oar was moving.
Edward Suhring, a witness for the defendant, fifty two years of age, head foreman for the Algiers Saw Mill.
Q. On October 38th, 1930, somewhere around six o'clock in the morning, an scoident ocourred at Oanal and St. Charles [240]*240Streets, when a oolo’red man. getting-off & Louisiana Avenue oar fell and got injured; were you there?
A. I was standing at the'corner waiting for that Sar.-
Q. Did you see the accident happen?

[239]*239In behalf of the defendant, the oonductor, of the oar, who had been in the service for thirteen years p-nd who was conductor at the time this accident occurred, which was on the 36th of October, 1930, was asked the question:

[240]*240' Á. I saw him fall, yes'sir. 'I was standing by the ■post just where tlie oex makes the usual stop, and this man got off the oar about twenty feet before the oar came to a stop X would judge, what "I mean four lines of pavement and that measures'about five feet, the car was rolling when'he jumped off the car, arid he'fell and his. leg went'under him,, and the conductor helped him, on the' car and went tp Canal and the river - and I, went on., . Witness goes o.n to testify that he was on the same-oar-th»t the, man was taken .out of.
Q. .Do you know how long the cs,r was deta-inéd there until ' the conductor gave the bell to "go ahead again?
A.' I do not remember, I do not think it would be longer, then sever, ór .eight Minute's.;

Louis Mason, forty three years of age, working for the GOrona- Coal .-Company for twentyyears:.-,

Q. In 1930, on October 66th, there was an accident that happened-at the oomer of Canal and St... Charlee. Strests, when a colored man fell while gettingyoffa car and was hurt.-Were you there?
A. I was... I was .'standingvwaiting.

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6 Pelt. 236, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carter-v-new-orleans-railway-light-co-lactapp-1922.