Norris v. St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co.

144 S.W. 783, 239 Mo. 695, 1912 Mo. LEXIS 108
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedFebruary 6, 1912
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 144 S.W. 783 (Norris v. St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co.) 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
Norris v. St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railway Co., 144 S.W. 783, 239 Mo. 695, 1912 Mo. LEXIS 108 (Mo. 1912).

Opinion

BROWN, J.

— Action for damages for alleged injuries sustained by plaintiff through' the derailment of one of defendant’s trains upon which she was a passenger. Plaintiff had judgment below for $10,000, and the defendant brings the case here by writ of error.

[704]*704This suit was originally instituted in the circuit court of Jackson county, Missouri, on July 10, 1905, at which time.the plaintiff in her petition did not allege any injury to her womb; but the first suit was dismissed, and in the present action, which was instituted on September 18,1905', she alleges that “she was bruised and injured about her back and spine and over the region of her kidneys and in the kidneys. Her left hip was severely bruised and wrenched, left leg was severely wrenched and bruised in and near the knee. Her left shoulder was bruised and contused. Her right leg was severely wrenched, bruised and contused. Her uteris was misplaced and anteverted, thereby causing inflammation of the pelvic parts and adhesions of the uterus to the pelvic walls, on account of which plaintiff has since suffered almost constant pains in her pelvic regions and in her head and back. That .by reason of such injuries, her nervous system was severely shocked and impaired, and that said injuries are permanent and lasting in their character and effect.”

Plaintiff testified that on June 9, 1905, she was a passenger on defendant’s train between Texarkana and Hope, Arkansas, a distance of thirty-five miles. A few miles from Texarkana, said train was derailed and wrecked, some of the front cars leaving the track and sliding or rolling down an embankment; the front end of the chair car in which plaintiff was riding jumped off the track, sliding partly down an embankment, the rear end thereof remaining attached to the dining car on the track. When the wreck occurred, plaintiff tried to arise in her chair, and by the sudden movement of the car was thrown violently against the arm of her chair and down into the aisle of the car, where she was trodden upon by persons who were scrambling to get out of the car. In being thus thrown down and trodden upon, she received severe bruises upon her left hip, abdomen, back, shoulder , and legs, cans[705]*705ing a displacement of her womb, and resulting in permanent injury to her health. After the alleged injury, plaintiff went on to Hope, Arkansas, where she spent tlie night and the following clay with friends. She then returned to Texarkana, where she remained one night, going thence by train to Kansas City, where some of her relatives and friends resided, and where she applied for and received the first medical aid for her injuries..

The physician who treated plaintiff at Kansas City testified that there were many bruises upon her body and limbs, and that she was in a very nervous condition bordering on collapse when she came into his office. He gave her internal treatment for her nervous condition and a local application for her bruises, but did not then discover any injury to her womb-or uteris. She remained under this physician’s care for three months, and more than a month after the injury, continued to be nervous, complaining of severe pains in her back and the lower part of her pelvis, accompanied by suppressed menstruation. He then examined her genital organs for the first time and found them very much congested and inflamed, and her womb anteverted or tipped forward, causing her much pain, and producing a highly nervous condition. Her physician testified that this unnatural condition of her womb could have been produced by a bruise or blow of any kind.

Said physician and two others employed by plaintiff, together with three physicians employed by defendant, examined plaintiff a short time before the trial. The physicians employed by plaintiff testified that her womb was still anteverted or anteflexed and adhered to her bladder, causing severe pains, and greatly affecting her nerves, stating that in their opinion it was very doubtful if plaintiff could be re stored to a normal condition of health.

[706]*706The three physicians employed by defendant testified that plaintiff’s womb was not anteverted and did not adhere to her bladder, bnt on the contrary, was slightly retroverted or tilted backward, bnt not sufficiently so to in any manner impair her health.

Plaintiff further testified that prior to the injury complained of she had never been afflicted with any womb trouble or disease of the nerves and was in perfect health; that she was able to work all day and until ten o’clock at night as a saleslady in a dry goods and millinery store, for which services, together with assistance rendered in purchasing goods, she received fifty dollars per month. That she lost three months from her employment immediately following her injuries, and then returned to work at forty dollars per month. That while since her injury she- had been able to do some work as a saleslady, she has been and is now afflicted with a severe nervous trouble, accompanied by constant pains in her back and genital organs, so that -she can only stand on her feet during short intervals of time; that she is also subject to fainting spells; which ailments have caused her to lose much time from her work, and forced her to resign her position.

May Cooper, one of plaintiff’s witnesses, and the party whom she visited at Hope, Arkansas, testified that plaintiff was so nervous and suffering to such an extent the day following the wreck that she was compelled to lie down most of the time; that there were many bruises upon plaintiff’s body and limbs at that time. That she roomed with, plaintiff several months in the years 1903 and 1904, during which time plaintiff slept soundly, appeared to be in excellent health, and worked long hours as saleslady, without fatigue or inconvenience. That immediately after the wreck and several months later she roomed with plaintiff, and noticed that she could no longer sleep soundly, [707]*707but was very nervous, and apparently in very poor health.

A number of witnesses introduced by plaintiff testified that prior to her alleged injuries she appeared to be in perfect health, had a clear complexion, full, rosy cheeks, bright eyes, and weighed about one hundred and thirty pounds, and was able to work long hours assisting her employers in selling and buying goods. That in a few months after she received her alleged injuries, her weight decreased to one hundred and two pounds, her complexion became pale and sallow and her eyes dull and languid, in which condition she continued until the time of the trial; and that she is now subject to fainting spells which cause her to lose much time from her work.

On the part of defendant, there was testimony that its engineer and conductor went through the train and among the passengers immediately after the derailment, and could find no one who claimed to have been injured in any manner.

Four physicians whom defendant sent to the wreck testified substantially to the same effect. One of said physicians testified that he knew plaintiff, having prescribed for her two or three times in 1904; that at the wreck he asked her if she was seriously injured, and she replied that she was “pretty badly shaken up, but not seriously hurt, she thought.” Two other persons who were riding on’ the same car with plaintiff at the time of the derailment, testified that they saw no one 'thrown out of their seats or thrown down in the aisle of the car.

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Bluebook (online)
144 S.W. 783, 239 Mo. 695, 1912 Mo. LEXIS 108, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/norris-v-st-louis-iron-mountain-southern-railway-co-mo-1912.