35 A.2d 315 | Pa. | 1943
Plaintiffs, husband and wife, brought this action in trespass against the Reading Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad Company to recover damages arising out of injuries sustained by the wife when a northbound Reading train, on which she was a passenger, was derailed just north of Manayunk Station in Philadelphia on April 26, 1941. The trial court directed a verdict for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. The jury rendered verdicts totaling $3,850.00 in favor of the plaintiffs against the Reading Company. From refusal of the court below to grant this defendant's motion for judgment n. o. v. and motion for a new trial, defendant appeals.
On appeal from refusal to grant judgment n. o. v., we must view the testimony in the light most advantageous to the plaintiffs, and resolve all conflicts in their favor: Barth v.Lackawanna and Wyoming Val. R. R. Co.,
Defendant introduced evidence to show that its equipment was in good working order and its tracks and roadbed adequately inspected and safe. It is the theory of the defendant that the accident was caused by thin boards thrown down upon the track from the Pennsylvania Railroad station, which was adjacent to the overhead bridge and situated high above on the east bank retaining wall. Defendant offered the testimony of a twelve-year-old boy that he and several companions, who had been playing in the area, had thrown the boards down upon the tracks; there was also evidence of the finding of shattered boards on the track at a point thirty-five feet north of the overhead. It is contended that these boards caused the derailment of the pony trucks of the locomotive which in turn caused the derailment of the locomotive's driving wheels and the entire train.
When a passenger of a common carrier is injured and it appears that the accident was caused by something connected with the means or appliances of transportation, a presumption of negligence arises: Zaltouski et ux. v. Scranton Ry. Co.,
The defendant also complains of the refusal of the court below to grant a new trial, and cites as error, inter alia, the admission of testimony by various passengers regarding the relative speed of the train. It is axiomatic that the refusal of a motion for new trial will be reversed only where it appears that the lower court clearly abused its discretion.Casey v. Siciliano,
The judgments of the court below are affirmed.
Justice DREW and Justice PATTERSON dissent from this opinion.