236 Pa. 618 | Pa. | 1912
Opinion by
The plaintiff sued in trespass to recover damages for physical injuries suffered by her through the alleged negligence of the defendant, a practicing dentist. She averred that the defendant “negligently and unskil
The plaintiff showed that after her tooth had been extracted by the defendant she had been taken ill and obliged to spend some time in a hospital, and that she had suffered great pain in the part of the jaw from which the tooth had been removed; but she did not prove that there had been negligence or unskilfullness in administering the cocaine or that her jaw-bone had been fractured. While she claimed that she did not see the defendant cleanse or sterilize his instruments, it is exceedingly doubtful from the testimony whether she was in a position to know whether or not this had been done; but assuming that there was sufficient to take that particular point to the jury, the weakness of the plaintiff’s case lies in the fact that she did not show with any degree of certainty that the direful results attributed by her to the use of the alleged unclean instruments came from that cause. The hypothetical question propounded to the expert witnesses, the answers to which were depended upon by the plaintiff to make out her case, stated that she was “in a normal state of health, that her jaw was healthy and sound and not affected or diseased at the time she visited the defendant’s office.” Counsel for the defendant objected that the question assumed facts not shown, and in overruling the objection the trial judge stated that unless more proof was produced later on, the testimony would not avail the plaintiff. In the opinion filed by the court below it is said, “We allowed the witness to answer indicating at the time that we thought there was merit in the ob
The assignments are overruled and the judgment is affirmed.