Kansas City Southern Railway Co. v. Cobb

178 S.W. 383, 118 Ark. 569, 1915 Ark. LEXIS 362
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMay 24, 1915
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 178 S.W. 383 (Kansas City Southern Railway Co. v. Cobb) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kansas City Southern Railway Co. v. Cobb, 178 S.W. 383, 118 Ark. 569, 1915 Ark. LEXIS 362 (Ark. 1915).

Opinions

Wood, J.,

(after stating the facts). (1) Appellant contends that the court erred in permitting nonexpert witnesses to testify in effect that soon after the injury appellee “appeared to be suffering*.” That “she looked bad; looked like she was :siok; seemed to be in bad health. ’ ’ That “a short time before the injury she appeared to be in very good health. ’ ’

The testimony comes within the rule approved by this court in St. Louis, Iron Mountain & S. Ry. Co. v. Osborne, 95 Ark. 310-317, where we held that it was not error to allow nonexpert witnesses to state facts within their knowledge and observation as to the plaintiff’s physical condition, habits, etc., before and after the date of the alleged injury.

Judge Elliott, in his treatise on Evidence, volume 1, section 679, states: “An ordinary witness may testify in a proper case as to the state of his health. Thus, he may testify that he has suffered pain, or state his physical condition generally. * * * So, such ,a witness may testify that another person seemed to be sick, suffering pain, nervous, or in good or bad health.” See .also sections 675, et seq. 676.

Where one person is acquainted with another and they come in contact with each other frequently, it is not a matter of expert knowledge for one to tell whether the other appears to be sick or well. These are matters of common experience and observation. And a nonexpert witness, after stating the facts upon which his opinion is based, may even give his opinion in such matters. J ones on Evidence, vol. 2, § § 360, et seq. 366.

The appellee herself had testified as 'to her condition of health (before the .alleged .occurrence of which she complains, iand the testimony of these witnesses but tended to corroborate her, 'and their testimony was competent.

(2) Appellant complains that the court erred in admitting the evidence of Dr. W. A. Sanders. This witness was at appellee’s father’s house on the day she arrived there iand had prescribed for appellee. The only portion of his testimony to which appellant objects was as follows: “Q. What was her apparent condition? A. Why, she seemed to be in fiairly good health, all right; didn’t seem to be anything wrong; had only just taken cold. Of course, I could not say; I did not make an examination.” This testimony was competent and certainly was not in any manner prejudicial to appellant. If it could have had any effect at all on the jury, it was rather in appellant’s favor than otherwise. There can be no question about .a physician, an expert in the treatment of diseases, being permitted to testify .as to the apparent condition of the patient whom he treats. As we have seen, the law permits even /a nonexpert to testify as to whether such person appears to ibe sick or well, such matters not being peculiarly' of expert knowledge.

(3) Appellant contends that there was no evidence to sustain'the verdict inasmuch ,as neither the appellee nor any of her witnesses testified to the effect that the failure on the part 'of the .agents of the appellant to build a fire in the depot resulted in the cold and other ailments of which appellant complains and about which she testified.

The appellee testified, in effect, that while she was at Texarkana her menses -appeared; that when the train reached Hatton, her destination, it was not raining, but that by the time the train reached Vandervoort, the place where she debarked, “it was raining torrents,” and, as a consequence, she “was drenched.” The waiting room at Vandervoort was not heated, and in ten or fifteen minutes after she entered it she was shaking with a hard ague. Before this she had explained to the agent that she was cold and wanted a fire. He did not make the fire. She remained in this waiting room nearly an hour -and -took the south-bound train to Hatton and arrived there about daylight; the morning was very cold, and a cold wind blowing from the east. Her health before had been good for nearly a year. After .she .arrived at her father’s she became dangerously ill, and has since been afflicted -with ailments, which she specifically described.

Under these circumstances, it was a question for the jury to determine as to whether or not appellee’s injuries and ailments resulted proximately from appellant’s failure to put appellee off at Hatton or from a failure upon its part to keep its waiting room for passengers at Yandervoort in a comfortable condition. If appellant negligently carried appellee by her station of Hatton, or negligently failed to keep its waiting room for passengers at Yandervoort comfortably heated, it would be liable in damages to the passenger for any injury sustained by reason of such failure. Kirby’s Digest, § $ 6704, 6707 and 6634.

The above facts show that it was a question for the jury to determine whether the alleged failure in either or both of the above alleged particulars was the proximate cause of the injuries of which appellee complains. It was- unnecessary for the appellee or any witness in her behalf to testify specifically that the ailments which she ■described resulted from these alleged ■ negligent causes. That was a deduction which the jury was authorized to ■make from the testimony. See St. Louis, I. M. & S. Ry. Co. v. Hook, 83 Ark. 584. And in coming to such conclusion, the jury were not merely exploring realms of speculation, but their findings were only such reasonable and natural inferences .as intelligent minds might miake from the facts which appellee’s testimony tended to prove.

(4) The court, at the instance of the appellant, instructed the jury, in effect, that .even though the plaintiff was carried beyond her station against her consent that she could not recover for any damages she may have suffered by reason of being wet while going from the coach to the waiting room.

Appellant contends that 'tinder ithe evidence the only damage, if any, to appellee aside from the inconvenience land delay, was that caused by reason of her exposure to the rain and getting wet, and that under the- above instruction appellant was not liable. True, appellant succeeded in having the court grant the above prayer, but a verdict of the jury will not be set aside -where there is substantial evidence to support it, even though the verdict is not in accord -with an erroneous instruction. The above instruction was not the law. It is obvious from the amount of damages assessed that the jury found that the injuries of which appellee complains were caused by reason of her being wet. There was no evidence to warrant them in finding the sum of $1,000 merely for -the inconvenience and delay of being wrongfully carried by her station.

Now, as we have seen, the jury were warranted in finding that the proximate cause of appellee’s getting wet was the fact that she was negligently carried by her station, and in order to reach her father’s in time she had to debark at the next station; that in doing so she was exposed to a drenching rain and became wet, resulting in the injuries of -which she- complains. The proof shows that it was not raining at Hatton at the time the train passed that station, and but for appellant’s' negligence in carrying her beyond her station she would'not have been exposed to the rain.

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Bluebook (online)
178 S.W. 383, 118 Ark. 569, 1915 Ark. LEXIS 362, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kansas-city-southern-railway-co-v-cobb-ark-1915.