Merkle v. Township of Bennington

The action in this case was instituted to recover damages for the death of the plaintiff’s intestate, caused, as is claimed, by a bridge being out of repair on a highway in the defendant township. It was brought under the statute of 1818 (Sess. L. p. 31), as amended in 1873. (Pub. Acts p. 127; How. Stat. §§ 8313, 8311), which is a general statute, and in its first section provides that “Whenever the death of a person shall be caused by wrongful act, neglect or default, and the act, neglect or default is such as would (if death had not ensued) have entitled the party injured to maintain an…