Smith v. Pennsylvania Railroad
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Appeal, No. 20, Oct. T., 1901, by plaintiff, from order of C. P. Westmoreland Co., Aug. T., 1898, No. 643, refusing to take off nonsuit in case of Amanda B. Smith v. Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Trespass to recover damages for death of plaintiff’s husband.
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Appeal, No. 20, Oct. T., 1901, by plaintiff, from order of C. P. Westmoreland Co., Aug. T., 1898, No. 643, refusing to take off nonsuit in case of Amanda B. Smith v. Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Trespass to recover damages for death of plaintiff’s husband. Before McConnell, J. At the trial it appeared that on August 7, 1897, Hamilton Smith, plaintiff’s husband, while driving a one-horse buggy over an overhead bridge in the borough of Derry, was thrown over a rail of the bridge and killed. The accident was caused by his horse becoming frightened at a train passing rapidly under the bridge.…
1Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Mr. Justice Felu,
This action was based oil the allegation that the defendant company had constructed a bridge over its tracks in a negligent manner. The proof of negligence related to the design of the bridge only, and with this it did not appear that the defendant had anything to do. The nonsuit was entered on the ground that the defendant had incurred no liability to the public by building the bridge.
The bridge was constructed under these circumstances. In 1892 three streets crossed the tracks of the railroad company in the borough of Derry. The borough council desired an overhead…
2Cases cited2 opinions
- Gates v. Pennsylvania R.Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1892
- Pennsylvania Railroad v. Borough of IrwinSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1877
3Cited by9 opinions
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- Dean v. HershowitzSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1935
- McCarthy v. FerenceSupreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1948
- O'Brien v. American Bridge Co.Supreme Court of Minnesota · 1910
- City of Philadelphia v. Pennsylvania Public Utility CommissionCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania · 1996
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