Jameson v. Standard Oil Co.

2 La. App. 419, 1925 La. App. LEXIS 488
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided June 23, 1925·No. No. 2379·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinions

ODOM, J.

Plaintiff brings this suit against defendant to recover the sum of $10,726.50, in which amount he claims he has been damaged on account of injuriés which he received when a light Ford, truck which he was driving collided with a large Packard truck owned by defendant and operated by one of its employees named Causey.

Plaintiff alleges that he is employed by the Elliott Electric Company in the city of Shreveport and that on the 8th day of May, 1924, he was driving a light Ford truck belonging to his employer on Texas avenue in the city of Shreveport when it collided with a truck owned and operated by defendant.

' He alleges that he received serious and permanent injuries on account of said collision, and especially alleges that the collision was caused solely by the gross carelessness, fault and negligence of the driver of defendant’s truck.

The defendant, in answer, admitted the collision, but defends the suit on the ground that its driver was not negligent, and that if it should be’ found that its driver was negligent in the operation of its truck, that his negligence was not the proximate cause of the collision, but that plaintiff was grossly negligent in the operation of the truck which he whs driving, and that his negligence was the proximate cause of the accident.

The District Judge rendered judgment in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant for $3330.75.

The Elliott Electric Company, which was plaintiff’s employer at the time of the accident and which owned the truck that he was driving, intervened in the suit, setting up that due to the injuries which plaintiff had received it was compelled to pay him the' sum of $364.50 on account of medical and hospital bills and for time lost while he was disabled, and it joined the plaintiff in the suit, asking that there be judgment in its favor against defendant for said sum. The judgment of the District Court allowed it the sum ■ which it claimed.

OPINION

A careful reading of the testimony in this case has convinced us that the driver of the truck belonging to defendant was grossly careless and negligent in the operation thereof.

The plaintiff was traveling along the right side of Texas avenue at a place where the said avenue is 36 feet and 5 inches .wide.

At the point where the accident happened the Standard Oil Company has ‘a station on the opposite side of the street.

There is no question but that the plaintiff was driving at a moderate rate of speed and that he was well over on the right side of the street just previous to and at the time the accident happened.

[421]*421A Mr. Causey, an employee of defendant, was coming towards the city on the other side of the street in a large Packard truck. It seems that the driver of the defendant company’s truck wanted to turn into the entrance leading to the company’s station, and in order to do so he had to swerve to the left and come over to the other side .of the street in order to make the turn. The truck which he was driving, being a large one and being very heavy, he had to make a considerable swing out into the street. His testimony is conflicting as to why he turned out into the street, for he says at one time that he had turned to the left and was going towards the other side of the street in order to make the swing into the entrance of the station on the right-hand side of the street. At another time he testified that he left his side of the street because there was an automobile parked on that side which he had to get around. Whether he left his side of the street and got over on the other side in order to make the swing into the entrance to the station, or whether he left his side of the street in order to avoid hitting the car which was parked there, we think does not matter.

But the facts are that he did leave his side of the street and get over across the middle thereof on the opposite side where the collision took place.

There were a number of witnesses who testified on the part of the plaintiff, all of whom gave versions of the accident, and all of them stated that the driver of the defendant’s truck swerved over to the opposite side of the street without giving any signal or warning of his intention to make the turn.

The plaintiff’s version of.the accident is as follows:

He says that he and a man named Huff were going out on a job and were running on the right side of Texas avenue or the Greenwood road and that one of the Standard Oil Company’s trucks was coming to town on the opposite side of the road, and just as it got opposite or about even with the alley at the far end of the Catholic Cemetery across the street,

“he crossed the street and came down my side and never gave any signal or anything to let me know that he was going to turn, and being in a short distance, cutting across, I did not have any chance to miss him.”

He was asked what there was on the opposite side of the street, and he said:

“Well, there is a filling station, and I. don’t know what they call it but there is a place, some place, there that- belongs to the Standard Oil Company. I guess it is a warehouse.”

And he stated that there is a driveway leading into this place.

He stated specifically that the driver of the defendant’s truck gave no signal or warning of his intention to turn.

■ R. J. Norton, a witness for the plaintiff, a traffic officer, stated that he did not see the accident but that he heard the crash, and he said' that the little truck, that is, the truck being driven by plaintiff, was on the right-hand side of the street, to his left.

It seems that Norton was in an automobile coming towards the city behind the defendant company’s truck.

He specifically states that plaintiff was on the side of the street' where he should be. He says that the driver of the defendant company’s truck swerved to the left and did not give any signal.

F. S. Hufft, who was on the truck with plaintiff, gave the following account of the collision:

“Well, Mr. Jameson and myself were going from Shreveport in a truck car going out on Texas avenue there by the Standard Oil station or warehouse, and there was a Standard truck — when' we got almost _ to [422]*422him he cut diagonally across the street and Mr. Jameson hit him. That is about all I know. It was done so quick I didn’t have time to think anything about it.”

And further:

“It was coming towards town and suddenly swerved to the left and got in front of a Ford truck.”

He states specifically that the driver of the defendant’s truck gave no signal or warning before making the turn.

And on cross-examination he said, speaking of the defendant company’s truck:

“It was headed right directly down the street. It was headed over on the left toward the curb, swerved over toward the left curb, and just about straightened his car out when — both trucks were about straight when they collided. Anyway he curved over to the left of the street and started like he was. trying to get back to -his side of the street.”

W. H.

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Jameson v. Standard Oil Co., 2 La. App. 419, 1925 La. App. LEXIS 488 (La. Ct. App. 1925).

2 La. App. 419 (Jameson v. Standard Oil Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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