Homans v. Boston Elevated Railway Co.
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort for injuries alleged to have been caused by a collision near the subway on Boylston Street in Boston, by which the plaintiff was thrown against a seat of a car of the defendant and received certain bruises and also a nervous shock which later was followed by paralysis. Writ dated November 18, 1898. In the Superior Court, the case was tried before Richardson, J. The substance of the rulings given and refused by him is stated by the court.
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Tort for injuries alleged to have been caused by a collision near the subway on Boylston Street in Boston, by which the plaintiff was thrown against a seat of a car of the defendant and received certain bruises and also a nervous shock which later was followed by paralysis. Writ dated November 18, 1898. In the Superior Court, the case was tried before Richardson, J. The substance of the rulings given and refused by him is stated by the court. The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the sum of $5,000; and the defendant alleged exceptions.
1Opinion of the CourtHolmes, C. J.
This is an action for personal injuries. The plaintiff was in one of the defendant’s cars and was thrown against a seat, receiving a slight blow, in consequence of a collision for which the defendant was to blame. She afterwards had a good deal of suffering of a hysterical nature, and the question before us on the exceptions concerns the rule of liability for the nervous shock. It was decided in Spade v. Lynn & Boston Railroad, 172 Mass. 488, that, if the defendant was a wrongdoer, it must answer for the actual consequences of the battery to the plaintiff as she was, although she might be…
2Cases cited4 opinions
- Spade v. Lynn & Boston RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1897
- Warren v. Boston & Maine RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1895
- Spade v. Lynn & Boston RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1899
- Smith v. Postal Telegraph Cable Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1899
3Cited by57 opinions
- Payton v. Abbott LabsMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1982
- Williams v. BakerDistrict of Columbia Court of Appeals · 1990
- Dziokonski v. BabineauMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1978
- Orlo v. Connecticut Co.Supreme Court of Connecticut · 1941
- Vance v. VanceCourt of Appeals of Maryland · 1980
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