71 Ind. App. 232 | Ind. Ct. App. | 1919
— Action by appellee to recover damages alleged to -have been sustained by reason of a defective sidewalk. There was a verdict, and judgment in her favor for $1,650. Appellant’s contentions áre that tbe court erred in overruling its motion for a new trial for the reasons: (1) That the verdict
Appellee while walking along the sidewalk on one of the public streets in the city of New Albany, in front of a grocery store, saw some beans displayed in front of the store, and, in turning and walking toward the store, she stepped upon a loose brick in the sidewalk, which slipped or turned under her weight and her foot slipped into a hole in the walk where another loose brick had been misplaced and knocked out by people walking over the sidewalk. When her foot slipped into this hole, she started to fall, and in falling she struck-her hand on a bench or some hard substance and sprained her thumb and ankle, hurt her foot, and suffered a rupture so that she ig required to wear a truss. She did not see the loose brick or know there was a hole in the walk. The sidewalk where she was injured was traveled as much.or more than any of the other sidewalks in the city. The sidewalk immediately in front of the grocery store where she was hurt was new and made of concrete, while the walk in front of the adjoining building and over which she had just passed was made of brick and was five of six inches higher than the concrete walk. ^When the concrete walk was constructed, the work■men took up the brick walk for a distance of two-feet and made a slope from the brick walk down to .the concrete walk.-
The condition of the sidewalk is best told by the witness Justice A. Kraft, who was a councilman at large in the city of New Albany at the time of the accident. He says in substance that, when the sidewalk was built in front of thq grocery store, it was built five or six inches lower than the sidewalk in
The evidence also showed that this condition was temporary; that the brick walk was to be taken up and a new concrete walk built in its place at a level with the concrete walk in front of the grocery store. The sidewalk when the accident happened had been in the condition described from three to five weeks before the time appellee was injured. Appellee, her husband and daughter testified that she was not ruptured prior to this accident. A number of her neighbors and acquaintances testified that they had known her for years and never knew she was ruptured, and never heard her complain of being ruptured. Her family physician testified that he never heard of it,
There was no error in overruling the motion for a new trial. Judgment affirmed.