Lamport v. General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corp.

197 S.W. 95, 272 Mo. 19, 1917 Mo. LEXIS 135
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedJuly 27, 1917
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 197 S.W. 95 (Lamport v. General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lamport v. General Accident, Fire & Life Assurance Corp., 197 S.W. 95, 272 Mo. 19, 1917 Mo. LEXIS 135 (Mo. 1917).

Opinion

WILLIAMS, J.

This is a suit upon a policy of accident insurance to recover the sum of ten thousand dollars for the loss of the left hand above the wrist. The policy provided an indemnity of $10,000 for loss of life and, among other things, provided for paying a like amount for loss of one hand by severance at or above the wrist if the injury be sustained “while a passenger in or on any regular passenger conveyance provided by a common carrier (including the platform, steps or running board of railway or street railway ears.” The policy was dated August 1, 1911, and was for a period of three months from its date. In the schedule of warranties contained in the policy it is stated that the beneficiary named in the policy, Mamie Lamport, is the wife of the insured; that the insured had no other accident -or health insurance except a five-thousand-dollar policy [27]*27in the same company; that his income per week exceeded the gross amount of weekly indemnity under all policies carried by him, and that his habits of life were correct and temperate.

Trial was had. before the circuit court of Jackson County, resulting in a verdict and judgment for the. plaintiff. Thereupon the defendant duly perfected an appeal.

The accident occurred about ten o’clock p. m., August 10, 1911, at the street-car stop at the entrance to Fairmount Park, near Kansas City, Missouri. A considerable crowd of people who had been patronizing the park were waiting for a street car. Plaintiff was in this crowd. The number in the crowd was estimated, by the .different witnesses, at from twenty to two or three hundred people. As the street ear was about to stop for the purpose of receiving passengers from this crowd, plaintiff jumped on to the front step thereof and took hold of the hand-hold. The car then moved about twenty feet farther, with him in this position, when he fell from the step; and while the car was moving slowly it ran over his left hand necessitating the amputation thereof.

"Witnesses produced by plaintiff narrated the occurrence as follows:

Louise Ruyssers testified that she and her three sisters were in the crowd waiting for the car and that they were standing near the track as the front end of the car passed them and that something ‘ ‘ gave her sister such a knock that she was forced to step back in order to gain her balance.” The witness then heard someone scream that a man was hurt. She then turned and saw .the plaintiff on the ground, on his back, lying parallel with the car, with his head toward the front end of the car. The plaintiff was groaning.

Sophie Ruyssers corroborated the above testimony of her sister and said that it must have been the man on the car that brushed against her sister. They next noticed the man lying on the ground with his hand, crushed.

[28]*28Matilda Ruyssers corroborated the testimony of her sisters and said that someone on the front end of the car brushed by her and that she had to step back to gain her balance; that she was not hurt, but that her balance was disturbed and-that she fell back against her sister.

Dr. Richard Callaghan, the local surgeon for one of the railroad lines entering Kansas City, testified that he saw the plaintiff get on the front end of the car, about eight feet ahead of where the witness was standing. The witness had himself intended to get on the step, but the plaintiff got on ahead of him, and the witness then turned his attention to the rear end of the car. The witness was not looking at plaintiff when the accident occurred, but immediately went to plaintiff’s assistance and found him lying unconscious on the ground with his left hand crushed. The witness also found a bruised place on the rear portion of the top of plaintiff’s head. This witness testified that passengers were let in at both ends of the car, on that night, at that place. That when the accident occurred the car was moving slowly, preparing to-stop. The witness further testified that plaintiff was suffering from concussion of the brain and that the concussion of the brain rendered plaintiff unconscious; that, plaintiff “came to” in about thirty minutes, but did not become rational and fully regain consciousness until the next morning; that the injury to the hand could not have caused the unconsciousness, but that it could have been caused from the bruise on the head. This witness accompanied plaintiff to the hospital and there aided in amputating the hand. The plaintiff did 'not sufficiently regain his consciousness to be able to help determine about the amputation of his hand, but the physician in charge decided that it was the necessary thing to do, and it was accordingly done.

Oscar H. Stevens testified that it was crowded around the car; that there was a “bunch” on the front end; that plaintiff was knocked or brushed off and fell and was in under the car “and it looked like he was going to get his head and everything cut off, ” and the witness grabbed plaintiff by his feet and pulled him out [29]*29from under the car. The witness testified that several people were trying to. get on the front end of the car, including himself.- The witness said: “I couldn’t say about seeing the man fall — such a mob there and crowd, and they was all grabbing, I couldn’t — some kind of an object or something, you know, and I went to grab on; I saw him underneath, then I pulled him out. I saw something like it fell off or jumped off; I didn’t pay any attention; didn’t think anybody was going to get hurt; I saw an object kind of fall down; I saw a car there and they was all scrambling; that made him knock him off or get.off, I guess, I suppose. When I took hold of him he was lying on his back.” After the accident the witness helped carry plaintiff on to the car.

Sam Tranin- testified: “ There was quite a mob of people down there waiting for the ear. Well, the car came around, kind of swept away around the curve, and I could see — well, just when it was probably about ten feet away from me, I could see a man holding on to the vestibule, to the rods of the car — of course, I couldn’t see whether he was standing on the steps or not, because I didn’t see below, I just looked on top of the car, I could see that, I could see him fall loose from there. . . . Then Mr. Stevens started to holler, ‘ That man, ’ he says, ‘just fell off of the car and got cut up,’ and then Mr. Stevens ran up to pull him out. There was such a mob right around there I couldn’t see what he done with him at all.”

Witnesses for the defendant narrated the occurrence as follows:

Bessie Rosenthal testified: “I saw the man as the car was turning the loop; I saw a man hop on the car, and he held there, and when it turned the loop and got towards me, he went and let go, and he fell off, fell kind of on his side, on his back, and then he rolled over, and threw one hand on the track, and hit my slipper with' the other hand. He fell on his back.” This witness further testified that plaintiff was not unconscious before his hand was crushed, but became so afterwards. She gave as a reason for this conclusion that his eyes were open [30]*30before the injury, but were closed afterwards. She further testified that it was the rear wheel of the front truck that ran over his hand.

Mrs. H.

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Bluebook (online)
197 S.W. 95, 272 Mo. 19, 1917 Mo. LEXIS 135, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lamport-v-general-accident-fire-life-assurance-corp-mo-1917.