7 Vt. 62 | Vt. | 1835
The' opinion of the court was delivered by
In this case the jury must have found, that the injury suffered by the plaintiff was the result of unavoidable accident, and that there was no want of prudence or care on the part of the defendant. They were instructed by the court, that if they found these to be the facts, their verdict must be for the defendant.
The plaintiff contends in this case, that the injury arose from the unlawful act of the defendant. This, however, is taking for granted the very point in dispute. If the act which occasioned the injury to the plaintiff was wholly unavoidable, and no degree of blame can be imputed to the defendant, the conduct of the defendant was not unlawful. From an examination of the case, we
It has also been considered, that if a man is entirely deprived of the command of his will and actions, and occasions an injury, he is not accountable for the injury which he involuntarily occasions; as if, from motives of self-preservation, he should jump out of the window of a house on fire, and fall against another; or in endeavoring to save another from inevitable destruction, he should run against some one ; — or if he is deprived of all control over his will by idiocy, or permanent madness, and should injure another, it is .considered as an involuntary trespass, for which no recovery can be had. In the case of lunacy, it has been held, that a man is answerable in trespass for an injury which he occasions to another. This, however, is on the strength of authority alone. To prevent any abuse of this protection, a person is accounted negligent or
We have examined this case more particularly, as the highly respectable and learned counsel for the plaintiff, for whose opinion we entertain a great respect, has urged so strenuously that a party must in all cases be answerable for an injury occasioned by a horse which he is riding, and that the doctrines to the contrary, found in the elementary writers, are only the opinions^ of the writers, and not founded on adjudged or reported cases./'''The result of our ex-\ animation is, that we think there must be some blame, or want of care and prudence, to make a man answerable in trespass;1 and that where a horse takes a sudden fright, and there is no imprudence in the rider, either in managing the horse or in driving an unsafe horse, and the horse runs against another, and injures himq the trespass is wholly involuntary and unavoidable, for which ndj¿ action can be maintained. - 'And although a man is held responsible'* for injuries occasioned by his cattle, as was urged in the argument,' it is on the ground that blame is attached to him in not restraining them, that it is his duty to keep them from mischief, and make use of care and prudence proportioned to the necessity of the case. It is on the ground that no blame is attached to him, that he is not responsible for damages arising from the vicious propensity of domestic animals, unless he knew of such propensity, and neglects to take the proper precaution to prevent their injuring others.
The judgment must therefore be affirmed.