36 Pa. Super. 441 | Pa. Super. Ct. | 1908
Opinion by
The plaintiff seeks to recover for injuries alleged to have
The car had stopped to receive passengers and the plaintiff, in company with her mother, ascended to the platform and entered the body of the car. The seats in the car were arranged as in an ordinary coach, an aisle running through the center, with seats facing the front at each side. The plaintiff and her mother testified that upon boarding the car they moved promptly through the door and along the aisle to the first empty seat, the third one from the door. The plaintiff was in advance.and was in the act of turning from the aisle into this seat when the car was suddenly started with an unreasonable, sudden and violent jerk or jar, which made it necessary for her to catch and hold fast to the seat in order to keep from falling to the floor, and her knee was struck against the seat, the ligaments of the limb, at the knee joint, being severely sprained and torn. The plaintiff testified that the injury was caused by the sudden starting of the car, before she had time to reach a seat. As to the manner in which the car was started she testified that “It was a sudden, violent jerk;” that she had frequently ridden on trolley cars and that the car on this occasion “was greatly jarred more than it was before whenever I was on the car, very much greater.” She testified, as to the effect of the violent starting of the car: “I would have fallen to the floor if I had not caught myself to the seat.” Her testimony was corroborated by that of her mother; who said that she, herself, would have been thrown to the floor, by the sudden and violent starting of the car with a jerk, if she had not caught hold of and held on to the back of a seat. Another witness, seemingly disinterested, testified that he had observed the plaintiff catch hold of the seat to keep from falling.
The judgment is affirmed.