213 Mass. 151 | Mass. | 1912
Thé defendants had an oral contract with the Boston and Maine Railroad to carry the mail between the rail
On the day of the accident, after the mail was placed in the wagon, the plaintiff sat upon the seat, the driver unhitched the weight from the horse, took the reins and got wholly or partly on the wagon. The horse then suddenly started and the plaintiff and the seat went backward, the plaintiff falling on his back in the body of the wagon. An examination after the accident revealed fresh, clean breaks in two of the small iron straps that held the seat, admittedly due to the accident.
The plaintiff seeks to hold the defendants responsible for his injury solely on the ground that they negligently furnished an unsafe, improper and insecure wagon to carry him.. The allegation that the horse was unbroken and vicious has been waived; and neither in the pleadings nor in the brief is any complaint made with reference to the conduct of the driver. The brief reference to the contract in the exceptions discloses no obligation on the part of the defendants to convey the plaintiff, unless it be implied from their agreement “to carry the mail” to the post office. They were not common carriers, and upon the evidence they owed the plaintiff at most no higher duty with regard to the wagon than that of exercising reasonable care to provide one that was safe. It is not contended by the plaintiff that the wagon was in fact
Exceptions overruled.