90 So. 763 | La. | 1922
This is a suit for damages, in the sum of $18,150, alleged to have been
The municipality, having dug a trench into which was laid a sewer pipe, in Portland avenue, neglected to tamp the dirt with which the trench was filled. The city engineer called attention to the faulty method of filling the trench, but the municipal authorities did not heed his advice. Thereafter,. in grading the avenue, a portion of the hard surface was removed from above the trench, making the surface weak and dangerous to traffic. While the grading was going on, plaintiff drove into the avenue on a wagon, hauled by a mule. There was nothing in the appearance of the surface to indicate the weak place where the trench had been dug. The mule and the right front wheel of the wagon went through the. thin crust into the trench, causing plaintiff to fall foremost over the dashboard, injuring his back and legs and perhaps his spine. The mule was also badly injured, and the wagon and harness were broken. The mule, however, did not belong to plaintiff. The court allowed $3,000 damages for the personal injuries, $100 for doctors’ bills, and $50 for damage to the wagon and harness.
The judgment appealed from is amended by reducing the amount thereof from-$3,150 to $2,150, and by allowing interest thereon at 5 per cent, per annum from judicial demand; that is, from the 14th day of June, 1919. Plaintiff is to pay the costs of this appeal, and defendant is to pay all other court costs.