42 A.2d 549 | Pa. | 1945
The law of this case is clear. A vehicle of a fire department is exempt, when responding to an alarm, from the restrictions of the Motor Vehicle Code of May 1, 1929, P. L. 905, regarding speed (section 1002(f)), right of way (section 1014(b)), traffic signals (section 1026(d)), and entrance upon through highways and stop intersections (section 1016(d)). But these exemptions are conditioned upon the vehicle being operated "with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway", and they do not protect the driver "from the consequences of a reckless disregard of the safety of others", or "from the consequence of an arbitrary exercise of [the] right of way". The municipality is jointly and severally liable with the operator for damages caused by his negligence (Act of June 29, 1937, P. L. 2329, section 619), provided such negligence is of a reckless nature: *201 Reilly v. Philadelphia,
In the mid-afternoon of a clear day a car of a battalion chief of the Bureau of Fire of the City of Philadelphia was being driven westwardly on Buist Avenue. In passing through the intersection of 63rd Street it came into collision with a beer truck driven north on 63rd Street by an employe of James Pedano, with the result that the truck was overturned in the intersection while the automobile continued across and along the north sidewalk of Buist Avenue for a distance of 150 feet and there crashed into the front of a residential property with such force that the foundation wall supporting the front porch of the building "was crushed into the cellar". In its passage over the sidewalk the car struck Harry Mansfield, a six-year-old boy, causing him severe injuries for which suit was instituted against Pedano and the City of Philadelphia. Verdicts were rendered in favor of the minor against both defendants in the sum of $10,000, subsequently reduced by the court to $6,000, and in favor of the minor's guardian, his grandmother, in her own right, in the sum of $642.20. The present appeals are by the City of Philadelphia from the judgments entered on those verdicts.
The only questions which merit discussion are these: (1) Was there evidence of the operation of the fire vehicle in such a reckless manner as to warrant the submission of the case to the jury? (2) Was the verdict in favor of the minor plaintiff excessive?
What constitutes reckless negligence has been so elaborately discussed in Reilly v. Philadelphia,
We are of opinion, therefore, that the evidence was quite sufficient to justify the jury in finding, as it did, that this fire vehicle was being operated, at the time of the accident, with a reckless disregard for the safety of others on the highway, and that such operation was a causal factor of the injuries inflicted upon the minor plaintiff. Accordingly it follows that the City of Philadelphia is jointly and severally liable with Pedano, the negligence of whose employe was also established to the jury's satisfaction.
As to the amount of the verdict, the injuries suffered by the boy were severe and likely, in part, to be permanent. They consisted of a concussion of the brain, an extensive and deep laceration of the left thigh and a fracture of the left femur. The lad was in the hospital for almost three months during part of which time his leg was in a splint with traction and weights. The fracture has healed with good union and with but a slight shortening of the limb, but the scar from the laceration in the thigh, extending from 10 to 12 inches transversely and fanning out in a thinner line about 8 inches in breadth, goes deep down into the muscular structures; the surrounding tissue is devitalized by impairment of the circulation; the protruding ridge of the scar, by irritation from contact with the boy's clothing, frequently becomes ulcerated and those ulcerations occasionally break down and bleed; the scarred tissue, because of its tendency to contract, constitutes a potential threat of future trouble. Weighing all these factors we cannot say that the verdict in the minor's favor, as reduced by the learned trial judge, is excessive.
Judgments affirmed. *204