198 Mass. 346 | Mass. | 1908
At the time the plaintiff and her mother and young brother entered the car, which was the second or third car of the train, it “ was somewhat crowded,-but there was room enough for the plaintiff’s mother to sit down and for . . . [two adult persons] to sit down next to her, then there was just room enough to put the boy on the end of the seat next to the centre door. By that time the seats were crowded. After the plaintiff’s companions were seated, the plaintiff stood in front of the boy (and held him right there until the crowd commenced to come in). His left hand was toward the centre door, that is, he was
As to the accident the plaintiff testified that upon arriving at Haymarket Square “ they opened the door to let passengers on, and they were getting on as quick as possible, and then the guard took them by the armful and pushed them in on top of the others — just took them and pushed them in. . . . The car was all crowded at that time.” She further testified that she “ should judge ” that as many as fifteen people came by her as she was standing at the door with her hand upon the rod. In answer to the question as to the effect of the pushing upon her, she said: “ Somebody first leaned on my back and then on my arm, and then I slipped, and I put my hand to protect the child, and then the door was shut; I had my hand on the iron rod, and when they pushed on me, my hand slipped and went in there (indicating), and I held my hand there for protection, and it was then that they banged the door.” She also testified that the
Passing over the question of the plaintiff’s due care, we see in all this no evidence of negligence of the defendant. The accident occurred at about eight o’clock on a summer evening, and it is apparent that a great many people were at the various stations; and, while a reasonable time should be given to passengers within which to board the train, yet it is proper to urge them. We do not think that the guard whose business it was to close the door could have reasonably anticipated that the hasty entrance of the passengers would result in any harm to the plaintiff. Nor was the act of shutting the door a negligent act. He saw that all the passengers were in, and he had no reason to anticipate that any passenger already in would place a hand on the jamb of the door. Only about half an inch of the end of one of the plaintiff’s fingers was there, and it is not shown that the guard saw or ought to have seen it. It was his duty to shut the door as soon as practicable. The case differs widely from Carroll v. Boston & Northern Street Railway, 186 Mass. 97. In that case the attention of the conductor had been attracted to the plaintiff because he had been talking with him only a moment before the accident, was close to him, and must have seen him in the doorway. It was said in that case that “ the jury were warranted in finding that the conductor knew, or, if he had exercised due care would have known, that the plaintiff’s thumb was in the slot. There was evidence that he was standing facing the plaintiff, not more than twelve inches away from him, and that the plaintiff’s hand was about opposite his face.” In that case the accident occurred upon an ordinary electric street car, and on that account it was said in the opinion that “ the custom which exists in England of having the doors of railway carriages on steam railroads shut by the guard from the outside just before the train starts, makes the English cases relied on by the defendant of no value here.”
But it is manifest that the English cases have a material bearing as to the law to be applied to the present case. See among
Judgment for the defendant.