Thompson v. City of Boston
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort under R. L. c. 51, § 18, for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained for want of a sufficient railing by falling into an unguarded excavation on private land adjoining the granolithic sidewalk of Draper Street, a highway of the defendant, on which the plaintiff was walking. Writ dated July 17,1908. In the Superior Court the case was tried before Wait, J. The material evidence is described in the opinion.
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Tort under R. L. c. 51, § 18, for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained for want of a sufficient railing by falling into an unguarded excavation on private land adjoining the granolithic sidewalk of Draper Street, a highway of the defendant, on which the plaintiff was walking. Writ dated July 17,1908. In the Superior Court the case was tried before Wait, J. The material evidence is described in the opinion. No question was raised in regard to the due care of the plaintiff. At the close of the evidence the judge ordered a verdict for the defendant; and the plaintiff alleged…
1Opinion of the CourtBraley, J.
By R. L. c. 51, § 18, if for want of a sufficient railing or barrier in or upon a public way a traveller in the exercise of due care is injured, the city, town or county charged with the duty of maintaining the way is liable in damages if the defect *212might have been remedied by reasonable diligence. No rigid standard of measurement by which the liability can be adjusted in all cases is practicable for reasons pointed out in Warner v. Holyoke, 112 Mass. 362, and restated and amplified in Scannal v. Cambridge, 163 Mass. 91, 93. The question whether the place into which the traveller passes is so…
2Cases cited7 opinions
- Warner v. Inhabitants of HolyokeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1873
- Murphy v. Inhabitants of GloucesterMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1870
- Damon v. City of BostonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1889
- Scannal v. City of CambridgeMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1895
- Lyman v. Inhabitants of AmherstMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1871
2 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by7 opinions
- Bond v. Inhabitants of BillericaMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1920
- Carney v. ProctorMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1921
- McMahon v. Inhabitants of HarvardMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1912
- Oriental Oil Co. v. City of San AntonioCourt of Appeals of Texas · 1918
- Watson v. City of DuluthSupreme Court of Minnesota · 1915
2 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.