Mahoney v. Metropolitan Railroad
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort for injuries sustained by the plaintiff in attempting to cross, with his horses and sled, the street railway track of the defendants in Washington Street in Boston, on February !, 1868, and alleged to have been caused by the negligence of the defendants in heaping up snow and ice on the sides of the track.
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Tort for injuries sustained by the plaintiff in attempting to cross, with his horses and sled, the street railway track of the defendants in Washington Street in Boston, on February !, 1868, and alleged to have been caused by the negligence of the defendants in heaping up snow and ice on the sides of the track. At the trial in the superior court, before Wilkinson, J., the plaintiff introduced evidence tending to show these facts: During the latter part of January 1868 there was a heavy fall of snow, and the defendants removed it from their railway track with snow ploughs, which cleared the…
1Opinion of the CourtMorton, J.
This case falls within the principle of the case of Thomas v. Western Union Telegraph Co. 100 Mass. 157. The fact that the plaintiff saw the obstruction created by the defendants, and knew its dangerous character, is not conclusive proof that he was negligent in attempting to pass it. A person who, in the lawful use of a highway, meets with an obstacle, may yet proceed if it is consistent with reasonable care so to do; and this is generally a question for the jury, depending upon the nature of the obstruction and all the circumstances surrounding the party.
In the case at bar, if the plaintiff…
2Cited by29 opinions
- Fitzgerald v. Connecticut River Paper Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1891
- Washington v. B. & O. R. R.West Virginia Supreme Court · 1880
- Kelley v. Town of Fond du LacWisconsin Supreme Court · 1872
- Harris v. Township of ClintonMichigan Supreme Court · 1887
- Kelly v. Southern Minnesota Railway Co.Supreme Court of Minnesota · 1881
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