White v. Boston & Albany Railroad
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff by the fall of a portion of one of the porcelain shades of a lamp fixed in the upper part of a car of the defendant, in which the plaintiff was a passenger, alleged to have been caused by the defendant's negligence.
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Tort for personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff by the fall of a portion of one of the porcelain shades of a lamp fixed in the upper part of a car of the defendant, in which the plaintiff was a passenger, alleged to have been caused by the defendant's negligence. Trial in the Superior Court, before Knowlton, J., who allowed a bill of exceptions, in substance as follows: The whole of the evidence touching the question of the defendant’s negligence was as follows: The plaintiff was a passenger on the train, and was a minor, about four years of age. The lady who accompanied and had charge…
1Opinion of the CourtW. Allen, J.
If the shade was defective and unsafe, the question whether it was in that condition through the negligence of the defendant would be for the jury; and the fact that it broke and fell from the use for which it was intended would be evidence that it was defective and unsafe, and, if not explained *406or controlled, would be sufficient evidence to authorize the jury to find that the defendant was negligent in regard to it. The fact that the act of the defendant, in placing and using the fixture in the car, caused the injury, would be evidence that it was caused by the negligence of the defendant.
The…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Feital v. Middlesex RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1872
- Kendall v. City of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1875
3Cited by44 opinions
- Carroll v. Boston Elevated Railway Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1909
- Ryan v. Fall River Iron Works Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1908
- Moynihan v. Hills Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1888
- Hicks v. New York, New Haven, & Hartford RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1895
- Hughes v. Atlantic City & Shore RailroadSupreme Court of New Jersey · 1914
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