Denver Tramway Co. v. Reid

4 Colo. App. 53
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 15, 1893
StatusPublished

This text of 4 Colo. App. 53 (Denver Tramway Co. v. Reid) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Denver Tramway Co. v. Reid, 4 Colo. App. 53 (Colo. Ct. App. 1893).

Opinion

Reed, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

The fact that serious injuries were received by appellee, the nature, extent and consequent effect of such injuries and the manner in which they were received, were well established by the testimony, appear to have been practically conceded by appellant, no serious effort having been made to in any manner contradict them.

The question of negligence on the part of the appellant corporation and contributory negligence upon the part of the plaintiff were the only important issues involved. Those having been found by the jury in favor of the plaintiff, unless serious legal error occurred upon the trial, either in the admission or rejection of evidence, or in the instructions to the jury as to the law of the case, such verdict cannot be disturbed.

[60]*60The questions of negligence upon the part of the defendant and contributory negligence of plaintiff are purely questions of fact, to be determined by the jury, not of law. No principle is better settled, both in the United States and England.

In Beach on Con. Neg., sec. 163, it is said: — “ In general it cannot be doubted that the question of negligence is a question of fact, not of law. Whenever there is any doubt as to the facts, it is the province of the jury to determine the question ; or, whenever there may reasonably be a difference of opinion as to the inferences and conclusions from the facts, it is likewise a'question for the jury. It belongs to the jury, not only to weigh the evidence and to find upon the questions of fact, but to draw conclusions as well, alike from disputed and undisputed facts.” And in a note the text is supported by almost innumerable authorities from every state in the Union.

In Detroit etc. R. Co. v. Van Steinburg, 17 Mich. 99, Judge Cooley said, at page 118:

“Negligence, as I understand it, consists in a want of that reasonable care which would be exercised by a person of ordinary prudence under all the existing circumstances, in view of the probable danger of injury. The injury is, therefore, one which must take into consideration all these circumstances, and it must measure the prudence of the partj^’s conduct by a standard of behavior likely to have been adopted by other persons of common prudence. • Moreover, if the danger depends at all upon the action of any other person under a given set of circumstances, the prudence of the party injured must be estimated in view of what he had a right to expect from such other person, and he is not to be considered blamable if the injury has resulted from the action of another which he could not reasonably have anticipated. Thus the problem is complicated by the necessity of taking into account the two sets of circumstances affecting the conduct of different persons, and is only to be satisfactorily solved by the jury placing themselves in the position of the injured [61]*61person, and examining those circumstances as they then presented themselves to him, and from that standpoint judging whether he was guilty of negligence or not. It is evident that such a problem cannot usually be one upon which the law can pronounce a definite sentence, and that it must be left to the sifting and determination of a jury.”

Although in all cases, both civil and criminal, the rule of law is well settled that it is the province of the jury to determine facts, it seems to be regarded as peculiarly within their province in cases of alleged negligence and contributory negligence, where, as in this case, the negligence of one, or combined negligence of both, resulted in serious injury. And the reason undoubtedly is, as stated by Judge Cooley, “ that the problem is complicated by the necessity of taking into account the two sets of circumstances affecting the conduct of different persons.”

In England in Met. Railway Co. v. Jackson, 3 L. R. App. Cas. 193, it was said: “ Whether there is reasonable evidence to be left to the jury of negligence occasioning the injury complained of, is a question for the judge. It is for the jury to say whether and how far the evidence is to be believed.”

In Dublin etc. Ry. Co. v. Slatterly, 3 L. R. App. Cas. 1155: “ When there is conflicting evidence on a question of fact, whatever may be the opinion of the judge who tries the cause as to the value of that evidence, he must leave the consideration of it for the decision of the jury.”

In Brown v. Gt. West. Ry. Co., Law Times, vol. 52, 652, (1885,) the court said : “ In an action of negligence, if the plaintiff gives evidence of negligénce on the part of the defendant, and also gives evidence which may or may not be considered as amounting to contributory negligence on his own part, the case ought to he left to the jury.” And see, Davey v. London etc. Ry. Co., 12 L. R., Q. B. Div. 70; Martin v. Northern etc. Ry. Co., 16 Com. B. 179.

One important branch or factor in the case seems to be ignored or overlooked, or at least not treated in argument with the consideration its importance required, viz., the serious [62]*62injury from electricity caused by coming in contact with the lower part of the car after falling. The negligence in operating the cars, whereby the plaintiff was thrown in such position as to come in contact with the electrical charge, may, undoubtedly, be regarded as the proximate cause of the injuries. The negligent application and use of the electric current by which the metallic portions of the trail car became charged, was the cause of the damage to the person by shock and burning. The first, proximate and direct, the other, resulting ; both united caused the damage to the person, consequently both must be regarded. The car was a “ trail,” supposed to be entirely free from the influence of the motive power which was applied to the motor car. It was alleged in the complaint “ that, by reason of the negligent, careless and unskillful manner in which said train and said electricity was used and operated, the plaintiff received on, upon and into his body large quantities of said electricity, and that, by means of said electricity, his whole system was greatly burned, shocked and injured, so that by means of the fall occasioned by the sudden motion of said train * * and by means of the powerful shock received from the electricity,” etc.

The fact being established that injuries were caused by electricity and that the car was so charged with the fluid as to injure a person by contact with any part of it, if not establishing negligence per se, made such aprima facie case as to require defense, either to show that the injuries were not caused by that agency or through the careless use of the agent. No effort was made upon the trial to show that the injuries were not caused by electricity, as stated in the complaint and established by the evidence, nor was the presence of the fluid explained or attempted. It is true Mr. Ballow, an electrical engineer in the employment of the company, was called and testified, the result of his evidence being that he knew nothing whatever about it, nor even what car it was; that it was his duty to cause every car to be examined at the station, that he had given such orders and presumed the examination had been made in the station the night after [63]

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Johnson v. . the Hudson River Railroad Company
20 N.Y. 65 (New York Court of Appeals, 1859)
Maverick v. . Eighth Avenue R.R. Co.
36 N.Y. 378 (New York Court of Appeals, 1867)
Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad v. Van Steinburg
17 Mich. 99 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1868)
Northern Central Railway Co. v. State ex rel. Geis
31 Md. 357 (Court of Appeals of Maryland, 1869)
Smith v. St. Paul City Railway Co.
18 N.W. 827 (Supreme Court of Minnesota, 1884)

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4 Colo. App. 53, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/denver-tramway-co-v-reid-coloctapp-1893.