Thompson v. City of Philadelphia

OPINION

McDermott, justice.

The issue before us is one of first impression. The question is whether and under what circumstances a trial court may order a new trial for the apportionment of damages under the doctrine of comparative negligence.1

On September 28, 1976, William Smith drove a tractor trailer through a guardrail at the end of the Spring Garden *596Street exit ramp of the Schuylkill Expressway in Philadelphia, and plunged onto the Expressway’s westbound lanes, crushing the vehicle of plaintiff’s decedent. Plaintiff instituted negligence actions in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia…