Zawada v. Anderson

149 N.W.2d 329, 181 Neb. 467, 1967 Neb. LEXIS 574
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 10, 1967
Docket36375
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 149 N.W.2d 329 (Zawada v. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Zawada v. Anderson, 149 N.W.2d 329, 181 Neb. 467, 1967 Neb. LEXIS 574 (Neb. 1967).

Opinion

White, C. J.

This is a car-pedestrian accident occurring at 6:30 p.m., August 7, 1963, in the east crosswalk of the intersection of St. Mary’s Avenue and Park Avenue in Omaha, Nebraska. Plaintiff recovered a jury verdict and judgment of $18,867. Defendants appeal.

Defendants’ first contention is that the plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law. In resolving this question plaintiff is entitled to have all conflicts in the evidence and reasonable inferences resolved in his favor. St. Mary’s Avenue, 50 feet wide, is a westbound, four-lane, one-way street with a pedestrian crosswalk on the east side where it intersects Park Avenue, and is controlled by automatic signals. Plaintiff was walking south on the east side of Park Avenue, came to the intersection, entered the crosswalk on the green light, and observed that there were two* cars stopped to his left in the two northernmost traffic lanes on St. Mary’s Avenue. He proceeded in the crosswalk across the intersection. Halfway across he observed the green light still in his favor. Another car, driven by the witness Mino' St. Lucas, was approaching in the third lane. St. Lucas saw the plaintiff about two car lengths from the crosswalk, and stopped his car about a car length away to permit him to cross. The defendant, Michael B. Anderson, was approaching in the fourth or southernmost lane of traffic immediately to the left and south of the Mino St. Lucas car. Plaintiff, after observing the green light halfway across the intersection, proceeded on across, looked to the left again and saw defendant Michael B. Anderson’s car when it was about *469 15 or 20 feet from Mm. He was between 4 and 10 feet from the south curb when struck on the left hip by the left front end of defendant’s veMcle. He was thrown 26 feet to the southwest by the impact. There is testimony to the effect that the plaintiff qmckened Ms pace or ran a few steps just before the impact occurred. Plaintiff’s testimony is to the effect that after seeing defendants’ vehicle he continued walking. Defendant driver never saw plaintiff until the impact, never slackened his speed or applied his brakes prior to impact, and traveled 40 feet across the intersection before stopping. His speed was 20 to 25 miles per hour, and he testified he had the green light from about half a block back.

Defendants argue that plaintiff was guilty of contributory negligence as a matter of law in moving from a place of safety into' the path of danger of defendant’s vehicle. We do not agree. In a literal sense, we suppose any pedestrian involved in a collision with a vehicle at an intersection crosswalk has moved from a place of safety into the path of danger at some point during the crossing. The more precise question is whether, as a matter of law, plaintiff was negligent in not seeing defendants’ vehicle sooner than he did, or not taking steps by stopping or otherwise, to avoid the collision. He first saw defendants’ vehicle when it was 15 to 20 feet to the east of him. The applicable ordinances of the City of Omaha gave plaintiff the right-of-way on the crosswalk, this right-of-way continued until plaintiff had fiMshed his crossing, and the ordinances required defendant driver to- yield the right-of-way and not to pass any car stopped for the passage of pedestrians. In this case there were at least two cars stopped and one slowing down or stopped for the passage of the plaintiff who was in plain sight on the crosswalk. Plaintiff entered the crosswalk on the green light, looked to the east, and saw two cars stopped for his passage. He had a right to assume that his right-of-way would be re *470 spected and that all cars approaching in the two southernmost lanes would not pass the stopped cars and interfere with his safe passage over the crosswalk. At the center of the intersection he still had the green light. He was struck when almost across the intersection. The question of whether he should have seen defendants’ vehicle sooner and stopped or otherwise avoided the accident is clearly a matter for the jury’s consideration and not for this court to determine as a matter of law. To hold otherwise, in effect, would be to hold that a plaintiff pedestrian, having entered a crosswalk and having the right-of-way, continues to cross at his peril. Plaintiff cannot be charged with negligence, as a matter of law, for a failure to waive his right-of-way because of a failure to see defendant in time to avoid the accident, especially when he had a right to assume that defendant would respect his right-of-way and stop-, if necessary, to permit his passage. In the case of Beck v. Trustin, 177 Neb. 788, 131 N. W. 2d 425, similar contentions were made as to plaintiff pedestrian in a crosswalk. Therein we said: "As pointed out in Costanzo v. Trustin Manuf. Corp., 176 Neb. 136, 125 N. W. 2d 556, before a verdict can be directed against a motorist for failing to see an approaching vehicle at a nonprotected intersection, the position of the approaching vehicle must be undisputedly located in a favored position. Certainly, a pedestrian with a right-of-way is in a much stronger position, and if his right-of-way is to be protected, we cannot permit the failure to see an approaching car or a misjudgment as to its speed to be the sole criteria. The failure of a pedestrian with the right-of-way to see an approaching car within the limit of danger or to- misjudge its speed does not ordinarily constitute contributory negligence as a matter of law. It is no more than evidence from which a jury may find contributory negligence.” (Emphasis supplied.)

Plaintiff was not required as a matter of law to keep a continuous lookout for .the defendant driver as he *471 crossed the intersection on the crosswalk. He had a right to assume defendant driver would respect his right-of-way until he had notice to the contrary. The issue of his contributory negligence was: clearly for the jury’s determination. There is no merit to defendants’ contention.

The trial court, in instruction No. 3 relating to the statement of the issues, set out three alleged particular acts of contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff. Defendants contend that the trial court erred in not specifically informing the jury that it could find the plaintiff guilty of contributory negligence if it found the defendants had proven one or more of these allegations. But the court did set out three distinct and separate alleged acts of negligence. And we no* not feel the jury was misled into believing that all three acts had to be proved to constitute contributory negligence. Implicit in the separate statement of acts of negligence was the inference that proof of any one of them could constitute negligence. Further, in instruction No. 5 in defining contributory negligence the court stated, “By this is meant any negligence of plaintiff directly and proximately contributing to* cause the accident.” (Emphasis supplied.) In defining negligence the court stated, “The doing of some act * * *” or “the failure to do some act * * In the light of the fact that the court set out three particular and separate acts of contributory negligence, we fail to see any error in the instruction. Instructions should be considered together and if, when considered as a whole, they correctly state the law, error cannot be predicated thereon. Bunselmeyer v. Hill, 179 Neb. 140, 137 N. W. 2d 354; O’Brien v. Anderson, 177 Neb. 635, 130 N. W. 2d 560.

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Bluebook (online)
149 N.W.2d 329, 181 Neb. 467, 1967 Neb. LEXIS 574, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zawada-v-anderson-neb-1967.