Burgan v. Pittsburgh

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Musmanno,

On March 11, 1949, Harry P. Burgan, 70 years of age, while crossing Liberty Avenue in the City of Pittsburgh, was struck by one of the defendant city’s motorcycles, which, travelling at the rate of 40 miles per hour, dragged him 400 feet, inflicting near-fatal injuries. In the ensuing lawsuit against the City of Pittsburgh, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in the sum of $25,000. Upon defendant’s motion for a new trial, asserting excessiveness in the verdict, the court below refused a new trial but reduced the amount of the verdict to…