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plaintiffdefendantnegligencetrialtestimonymotion

defendantnegligencetrialtestimonymotion

Related Cases

Wolfe v. Checker Taxi Co., 299 Mass. 225, 12 N.E.2d 849

Facts

The plaintiff's intestate, a sergeant of police, was seated in a police car when a taxicab owned by the defendant struck a peddler, causing the peddler's pushcart to collide with the police car. The taxicab was being operated negligently, swaying and traveling at a high speed. Following the collision, the decedent was observed wiping blood from his mouth and later reported that he had bitten his tongue during the incident. Medical evidence suggested that the injury to his tongue led to an infection that ultimately caused his death ten days later.

The decedent was, at the time, seated in the police car, talking with a person who was standing on the sidewalk. The operator of the taxicab shortly after the collision saw the decedent wiping blood from his mouth.

Issue

Did the negligence of the taxi's employee directly cause the injuries to the decedent and subsequently his death?

Rule

The court applied the principle that a direct and proximate cause exists when the negligent act sets in motion a chain of events leading to an injury without the intervention of an independent force.

The active, efficient cause that sets in motion a train of events which brings about a result without the intervention of any force started and working actively from a new and independent source is the direct and proximate cause.

Analysis

The court found sufficient evidence to support a jury's finding that the taxi's negligent operation was the proximate cause of the decedent's injuries. The impact of the pushcart against the police car was a direct result of the taxi's negligence, and the subsequent injury to the decedent's tongue was linked to the collision. Medical testimony indicated that the infection from the tongue injury led to the decedent's death, establishing a causal connection.

If the expert testimony of the physicians is accepted as true there was in fact a causal relation between the negligence of the defendant's employee injuring the decedent's tongue and his death through germs entering his body by way of the wound and creating an infection.

Conclusion

The court concluded that the case should have been submitted to a jury, thus ordering a new trial.

Since we hold that the case should have been submitted to the jury, in accordance with the stipulation of the parties, there is to be a new trial.

Who won?

The plaintiff prevailed in the sense that the court ordered a new trial, allowing the case to be heard by a jury.

The court concluded that the case should have been submitted to a jury, thus ordering a new trial.

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