Evans v. Oregon Short Line Railroad

108 P. 638, 37 Utah 431, 1910 Utah LEXIS 69
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedApril 29, 1910
DocketNo. 2103
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 108 P. 638 (Evans v. Oregon Short Line Railroad) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Evans v. Oregon Short Line Railroad, 108 P. 638, 37 Utah 431, 1910 Utah LEXIS 69 (Utah 1910).

Opinion

FRICK, J.

This is an action by respondents, as administrators of the estate of one Jesse J. Price, deceased, to recover damages which it is alleged resulted from his death to his surviving widow and eight minor children, for whose benefit the action was prosecuted. Jesse J. Price was killed on the 19th day of September, 1907, in a collision with a passenger train of appellant while attempting to cross its railroad track with a team and wagon at a public road crossing in the town of Richmond, Cache County, this state, and it is alleged that the collision and death of said Price was caused by the negligence of the appellant. The alleged acts of negligence, briefly stated, are: (1) Excessive speed1 of the train; (2) failure to keep a proper lookout before reaching the crossing by defendant’s servants; (3) permitting weeds, willows, and [436]*436other obstructions to grow and remain on appellant’s right of way at or near a public crossing; and (4) failure to sound the bell, blow the whistle, or give any other warning of the approach of the train. The case was submitted to a jury, who returned a verdict for respondents in the sum of $15,300. The court entered judgment -on the verdict, from which this appeal is prosecuted.

While the errors assigned are numerous, we shall only consider those that are relied on and are argued in the brief of appellant’s counsel. In order to avoid repetition, we shall state the facts, so far as deemed necessary, in connection with the discussion of the several assignments. Appellant asserts that the court erred in admitting certain evidence respecting the relations existing between the deceased and his wife, one of the beneficiaries of this action, as testified to by the family physician of the deceased as the physician had observed the decedent’s conduct some nine or ten months preceding his death. The substance of the evidence, which is correctly stated by counsel for appellant in their brief, is as follows: “J observed that Mr. Price’s treatment of his wife was most kind — beyond the average. He had to help dress her and attend to her. He attended to her as a trained nurse would have done. I have never seen a man who would attend to a woman as kindly and as well as he did. He assisted to dress her, and during the confinement, he gave me every assistance a man could. Mr. Price was a perfect specimen of manhood. He was robust, healthy, and strong. He was a well preserved man in every way.” ■ The contention is that this evidence should have been excluded upon the objection of counsel, which was upon the ground that the evidence is “immaterial, incompetent, and irrelevant.” We think otherwise. Section 2912 of the Compiled Laws of the State of Utah of 1907, upon which this action is based, so far as material to the particular objection now under consideration, reads as follows: “In every action under this and the preceding section such damages may be giten as under all the circumstances of the case may he just ” (Italics ours.) The question, therefore, [437]*437is not merely whether a wife has lost a husband or a child a father, who in a mechanical way provided for their support from his earnings or other means. We think that, in connection with the evidence showing what the deceased has contributed to the family for support and maintenance, the wife and children may also show the affection the deceased entertained for them, his disposition and deportment toward them, his counsel and advice, and his care and 1 kindly solicitude for their welfare in so far as these things were made effective by his acts, and that the jury may consider all these things in connection with the evidence of the amount the deceased contributed for support, as aforesaid, in arriving at the amount which the widow and minor children shall receive as compensation for the injury sustained by them by reason of the death of the husband and father. We are of the opinion, therefore, that the court committed no error in overruling the objection and in admitting the evidence referred to.

It is, however, urged that the evidence was irrelevant and improper in any event, because the doctor’s testimony referred to a specific instance or act relative to the deportment and disposition of the deceased, and to a time long prior to his death. The objection as stated above, however, was hardly broad enough to challenge the attention of either op^ posing counsel or court to this precise point. Assuming, however, for the purposes of this decision, that the objection was sufficiently broad, we are still of the opinion that the evidence was properly admitted. This objection, in any event, goes to the weight of the evidence rather 2 than to its competency. There is no other way by which the decedent’s affection, conduct, and treatment of his family could have been shown except as it was done, and the mere fact that th^ doctor did not come into daily contact with the husband and wife and was thus unable to testify to their daily conduct toward each other for a connected period of months or years in no way affected the admissibility of the testimony.

[438]*438Tbe nest error assigned by appellant is very closely related to tbe one just discussed. This assignment relates to tbe admission of evidence relative to tbe physical condition of tbe widow of the deceased. The objection made to this evidence as disclosed by tbe record is “that it is not a proper element of damages.” Tbe court overruled tbe objection, and counsel saved an exception. Tbe testimony given by a Mrs. Dent in brief is as follows: “Well, she is almost unable to help herself. She has bad to be taken care of ever since she was paralyzed. Now she can’t do any housework to amount to anything. She goes around tbe bouse and attempts to do some things, but not very much, because she has lost tbe use of her right limb.” It is contended that tbe testimony should have been excluded upon tbe grounds: (1) Because it is not proper for any purpose; and (2) because tbe witness in describing tbe widow’s physical condition did not limit her statement to a time anterior to tbe death of the deceased. A conclusive answer to tbe second ground of objection is that it is unavailing because this specific ground of objection was not stated at tbe time of trial, 3 but tbe general objection that we have given only was interposed. If counsel at tbe time bad called tbe attention of court and opposing counsel to tbe fact that tbe question did not limit tbe testimony to any particular time, no doubt tbe question would have been so framed as to obviate this objection, and, if tbe objection could not have been obviated and tbe court bad nevertheless admitted the evidence over tbe specific objection, tbe ruling could then have been reviewed with fairness and justice to all concerned. In view of tbe state of tbe record and tbe nature and form of tbe objection, this may not now be done. Another answer is that tbe witness, just before giving tbe testimony before quoted, in referring to tbe physical condition of tbe widow of tbe deceased, said: “She has been an invalid for nearly four years, and suffers from a paralytic stroke on her right side.” It is apparent, therefore, that, while tbe 4 statement of tbe witness as a matter of form referred to tbe wife’s physical condition at tbe time of tbe trial, [439]*439the witness nevertheless, in fact, referred to such condition at a time long prior to the death of the deceased. For these reasons the second ground of objection cannot be sustained;

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Bluebook (online)
108 P. 638, 37 Utah 431, 1910 Utah LEXIS 69, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/evans-v-oregon-short-line-railroad-utah-1910.