Tannian v. Inhabitants of Amesbury
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Tort under R L. c. 51, § 17, against the town of Amesbury by the administrator of the estate of Thomas M. Tannian for the loss of life of the plaintiff’s intestate on June 22, 1911, when he was three years, seven months and twenty-six days of age, from being drowned in. the Powow River, by reason of the alleged want of a sufficient railing to the bridge which crosses that river as a part of Pond Street, a public highway in that town.
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Tort under R L. c. 51, § 17, against the town of Amesbury by the administrator of the estate of Thomas M. Tannian for the loss of life of the plaintiff’s intestate on June 22, 1911, when he was three years, seven months and twenty-six days of age, from being drowned in. the Powow River, by reason of the alleged want of a sufficient railing to the bridge which crosses that river as a part of Pond Street, a public highway in that town. Writ dated September 16, 1911. In the Superior Court the case was tried before Bell, J. The facts which could have been found upon the plaintiff’s evidence are…
1Opinion of the CourtSheldon, J.
While the question is not free from doubt, we are of opinion that the jury could find that there was a defect or want of a sufficient railing on this bridge. They certainly could find that a raffing or fence was needed to make the bridge safe for travel. It was a part of one of the principal streets of the town, a street by which children went to and from school. They could find further that there was a hole in the raffing through which children might fall; that the protection afforded to children was so much diminished by the existence of this hole as to make the bridge unsafe for them to…
2Cases cited5 opinions
- Donohue v. City of NewburyportMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1912
- Tierney v. Boston Elevated Railway Co.Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1914
- Gulline v. City of LowellMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1887
- Bliss v. Inhabitants of South HadleyMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1887
- McCulloch v. Inhabitants of NeedhamMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1914
3Cited by3 opinions
- McDonough v. VozzelaMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1924
- Hay v. HillSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1950
- Mendelin v. Town of West BoylstonMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · 1954