215 Mass. 263 | Mass. | 1913
This is an action of tort to recover for personal injuries received by the plaintiff on September 30, 1910, while in the defendant’s employ, by reason of the tipping over upon him of a loaded lumber wagon. The case was submitted to the jury under instructions not objected to by either party. The jury found for the plaintiff and assessed the damages in the sum of $5,000. The defendant thereupon requested the judge
The case is a close one, but we are of opinion that there was evidence of due care on the part of the plaintiff and of negligence on the part of the defendant.
The plaintiff was an experienced teamster and testified that it was the first time that he had driven the wagon, and that so far as
The defendant was bound to furnish the plaintiff with a reasonably safe wagon. There was evidence tending to show that the perch of the wagon that tipped over was shorter than that of any other wagon owned by the defendant, and that that rendered the wagon less stable; that the front springs were old and the real ones new, and that the body of this wagon tipped down forward while all the others were level; that the upper rocker plate instead of being flush with the lower one, as it should have been, was half
Judgment for the plaintiff for $5,000, with interest from the date of the verdict, and costs.
The case was submitted on briefs.
Morton, J.
At the time of the accident there was one horse in the shafts driven by the plaintiff and another horse in the lead driven by another driver. The “ perch ” of a wagon “ is the wooden bar that connects the rear axle with the front one.”