Demers v. Becker

The first argument of the defendant in support of his exception to the denial of a nonsuit is that the cause of the plaintiff’s injury is conjectural. “The jury had to guess whether the accident was caused because of the instructions which the plaintiff claimed to have received, or, because he was negligent in putting his hands into the gears.” This position is not open to the defendant in view of P. L., c. 328, s. 13, which imposes on the defendant the burden of proving contributory negligence. If the plaintiff was negligent, the defendant was bound to prove it. In the absence of evidence,…