Wheaton v. North Beach & Mission Railroad
California Supreme Court
Appeal from the District Court, Fifteenth Judicial District, City and County of San Francisco. This was an action hy the plaintiff, a passenger on the car of the defendant, to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by reason of the alleged negligence of the defendant’s servants in starting the car in motion while the plaintiff was alighting, and before she was free therefrom, whereby she was thrown down and her left arm broken.
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Appeal from the District Court, Fifteenth Judicial District, City and County of San Francisco. This was an action hy the plaintiff, a passenger on the car of the defendant, to recover damages for personal injuries sustained by reason of the alleged negligence of the defendant’s servants in starting the car in motion while the plaintiff was alighting, and before she was free therefrom, whereby she was thrown down and her left arm broken. The case was tried hy the Court with a jury, and plaintiff had verdict and judgment for two thousand dollars. The defendant moved for a new trial, which was…
1Opinion of the Court
By the Court, Sanderson, J. :
The motion for a new trial'was made upon three grounds: First—Excessive damages. Second—Insufficiency of the evidence. Third—Error in refusing an instruction asked by the defendant.
I. In cases of this character, as we had occasion to say in Aldrich v. Palmer, 24 Cal. 513, the law does not prescribe any fixed or definite rule of damages, but, from necessity, leaves their assessment to the good sense and unbiased judgment of the jury, and hence their verdict will not be disturbed on motion for a new trial, unless the amount is so large as to induce a reasonable…
2Cases cited1 opinion
- Aldrich v. PalmerCalifornia Supreme Court · 1864
3Cited by17 opinions
- Howland v. Oakland Consolidated Street Railway Co.California Supreme Court · 1895
- Mudrick v. Market Street Railway Co.California Supreme Court · 1938
- Earl v. Times-Mirror Co.California Supreme Court · 1921
- Kline v. Santa Barbara Etc. Ry. Co.California Supreme Court · 1907
- Scragg v. SalleeCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1914
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