162 A. 554 | N.J. | 1932
This is an action instituted by the plaintiff to recover for personal injuries sustained while a passenger on one of the defendant's trains, as it arrived at the Exchange Place station, Jersey City. The trial resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff, and the defendant appeals on the sole ground that the trial court erred in refusing to direct a verdict in its favor, contending that there was no evidence of any negligence on the part of the defendant or its agents, and that the undisputed testimony indicates that the accident was caused by the unforseen, sudden and unexpected act of one or more passengers, for which the defendant is not responsible. At the close of the trial, the only evidence submitted, with respect to negligence on the part of the defendant, was the uncontradicted testimony of the plaintiff and a friend who *368 was with her at the time of the accident, which discloses that on March 4th, 1930, the plaintiff and said friend, Dorothy Dolan, boarded a train of the defendant, at about five-fifteen P.M., at Cortland street, New York, and paid her fare, intending to travel to the Erie station, at Jersey City. There were no vacant seats, and the plaintiff was compelled to stand. Before it left the Cortland street station, the train, as well as the outside vestibule, was so crowded that the plaintiff and her companion, standing in the vestibule, were pushed against the door opposite the one by which they had entered the train. When the train made its first stop, at Exchange Place, the doors immediately opened, and as the crowd came rushing out of the platform, the plaintiff was pushed off the train, injuring her ankle and knee. While the train was in motion, and when it stopped at Exchange Place, there was a guard standing between the two cars, which was about three or four feet from where the plaintiff was crowded against the door. The guard did not change his position, give any warning, or take any action whatsoever, as the train stopped and the doors were opened, to prevent the rush of the crowd departing from the train. There is no evidence that any guard was at the station platform when the train arrived.
The defendant was a common carrier, and as such, was bound to use a high degree of care to protect its passengers from any damage that foresight could anticipate. Rivers v. PennsylvaniaRailroad Co.,
The judgment under review will be affirmed.
For affirmance — THE CHANCELLOR, TRENCHARD, PARKER, LLOYD, CASE, BODINE, DONGES, BROGAN, VAN BUSKIRK, KAYS, HETFIELD, DEAR, WELLS, KERNEY, JJ. 14.
For reversal — None.