123 Ga. 821 | Ga. | 1905
(After stating the facts.) 1-3. It is the duty of a city to keep its streets and sidewalks in a reasonably safe condition, so that persons can .pass along them in the ordinary methods of travel in safety. Bellamy v. Atlanta, 75 Ga. 167. If a defect in a sidewalk of a municipal corporation has existed for such a length of time that by reasonable diligence .in the performance of their duties the defect ought to have been known by the corporate authorities, notice will be presumed, and proof of actual knowledge will not be necessary in order to render the municipality liable for injuries occasioned thereby. Mayor etc. of Atlanta v. Perdue, 53 Ga. 607; Chapman v. Macon, 55 Ga. 566; Dempsey v. Rome, 94 Ga. 420; City Council of Augusta v. Tharpe, 113 Ga. 152. Ordinary diligence on the part of a person passing along the sidewalk of a public street of a municipal, corporation, and ordinary diligence on the part of the corporation in constructing and repairing the sidewalk, do not imply a like degree of vigilance in foreseeing danger and guarding against it. Wilson v. Atlanta, 63 Ga. 291, s. c. 59 Ga. 544. Although a municipality may be negligent in permitting a defect to remain in a sidewalk, a traveler must exercise ordinary care under the • circumstances. “The fact that a traveler voluntarily attempts to pass, with knowledge of the defect o,r obstruction, is not ordinarily conclusive evidence of a want of due care; but if he has^or ought to have notice thereof, he must exercise such care as the circumstances demand, and if an ordinarily prudent person would not attempt to pass, under the circumstances, he will be guilty of con-
4. The remaining grounds of the demurrer as argued make a-single point, namely: Did the declaration show that the plaintiff could have avoided the injury to herself by the use of ordinary care, so as to prevent a recovery ? Again we apply the principles in the cases above cited to the facts of the present case as alleged in the declaration. According to the allegations, the plaintiff was passing along a public sidewalk which the municipal authorities had left in the same condition for six months or more, as one of its sidewalks for use by the public. Her mind was occupied with her business, but she was conscious of the existence of the hole, and endeavored to pass safely around it, and she thought she had walked a sufficient distance from the edge of the
Judgment reversed.