Magee v. New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort for personal injuries sustained while the plaintiff was travelling between New York and Boston as a passenger in a train of the defendant, near the city of New Haven in Connecticut at about five o’clock in the afternoon of May 29, 1903. Writ dated January 5, 1904. At the trial in the Superior Court Aiken, G. J. ordered a verdict for the defendant, and reported the case for determination by this court.
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Tort for personal injuries sustained while the plaintiff was travelling between New York and Boston as a passenger in a train of the defendant, near the city of New Haven in Connecticut at about five o’clock in the afternoon of May 29, 1903. Writ dated January 5, 1904. At the trial in the Superior Court Aiken, G. J. ordered a verdict for the defendant, and reported the case for determination by this court. He instructed the jury to assess the damages which the plaintiff should recover if entitled to go to the jury. The jury assessed the damages at $6,000, of which the plaintiff on the…
1Opinion of the CourtRjjgg, J.
The only question raised by this report is whether there was sufficient evidence of the negligence of the defendant to warrant a submission to the jury. The case is a close one, but in view of all the circumstances it cannot be said that there was not. A passenger seated in a railroad train has a right to expect transportation without bodily injury. To put the proposition conversely, it is the duty of a common carrier of passengers to carry those whom it accepts for carriage so that they shall not suffer physical harm, unless, in the exercise of the highest degree of care and skill consistent…
2Cases cited8 opinions
- Griffin v. Boston & Albany RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1889
- Feital v. Middlesex RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1872
- White v. Boston & Albany RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1887
- Weinschenk v. New York, New Haven, & Hartford RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1906
- Byron v. Lynn & Boston RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1901
3 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.
3Cited by18 opinions
- McNamara v. Boston & Maine RailroadMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1909
- Fone v. ElloianMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1937
- Glaser v. SchroederMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1929
- Washburn v. R. F. Owens Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1927
- Washington-Virginia Railway Co. v. BouknightSupreme Court of Virginia · 1912
13 more not listed; retrieve them via the Exa API.