131 Minn. 448 | Minn. | 1915
Defendant owns a building on Seventh street, in St. Paul. It is a business block and is built flush with the sidewalk. Projecting out into the sidewalk is an old cellar-way. In January, 1914, this was covered with a slanting wooden door, similar to the old-fashioned outside cellar door, extending from a point on the side of the building about three feet from the ground, out into the sidewalk about 28 inches, and of a width of from 34 to 38 inches. There is evidence on behalf of plaintiff that along the sidewalk at the foot of this cellar door there was, on January 28, 1914, an irregular ridge of ice about six inches high. Plaintiff claims that, while walking along this sidewalk after nightfall, she stepped upon this ridge of ice and by reason of it fell and sustained injury.
Defendant claims the evidence is conclusive that the snow was swept from this cellar door and from the sidewalk as soon as it fell. There is some evidence to that effect.. But the janitor, upon whom devolved the duty of sweeping the snow, was sworn as a witness for the defendant and he made no such claim. The best that he could say was that he “kept the sidewalk clean as a general rule” and that he was “supposed to keep the sidewalk clean, that is, a reasonable amount of the sidewalk.” Defendant’s evidence is not conclusive that the door was kept free from snow.
The witness was permitted later to state that plaintiff complained of pain while in bed that night. When asked to state the nature of the complaint, he said: “She had her hand on her stomach, groaning and tumbling” and would say: “Oh, my stomach.” We find no error in the admission of this evidence. While evidence as to complaints of pain is not admissible, exclamations of pain, or any words or acts that are the natural language of pain, may be given in evidence. The words and acts testified to were of this class. See White v. Standard Life and Accident Ins. Co. 100 Minn. 541, 110 N. W. 1134.
Order affirmed.