Shelton v. Los Angeles Railway Corp.

BURROUGHS, J.,

pro

tem.

This is an action for personal injuries alleged to have been sustained by the plaintiff through the negligent operation of a street-ear belonging to the defendant corporation. The cause was tried by the court sitting without a jury. Findings and judgment were entered in favor of the said defendant and the plaintiff has appealed.

The appellant has argued three points, either one of which it is claimed constitutes reversible error. The first two attack the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the findings of the court and will be considered together. It is alleged in the complaint that on or about the twelfth day of March, 1926, the plaintiff was a passenger for hire on a street-car owned and operated by the defendant corporation; that while she was in the act of getting off of said car, but still on the platform and steps thereof, and at the place where said ear usually stopped to allow passengers to alight, and while

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said car had stopped, the defendant and its employees negligently and carelessly caused it to be suddenly and violently jerked and started in motion without allowing plaintiff sufficient time to alight therefrom; that in consequence of such negligence plaintiff was seriously injured by being thrown with great force from the ear to the street, thereby causing certain specified injuries.

The answer of the defendant denied the allegations of negligence and as affirmative matter alleged that whatever damages plaintiff may have suffered were due to the sole negligence of the plaintiff and also sets up the plea of contributory negligence.

The court found that after the car had been started and while it was in motion the plaintiff went to the door of the car and negligently and voluntarily alighted from the car while it was in motion, thereby proximately causing the injuries complained of.

If this finding is sustained by the evidence then there can be no question as to the correctness of the judgment. Mrs. J. E. Richardson testified that she was seated in an automobile with her' mother and brother waiting for her husband to come and she was watching the cars very closely. She testified: “ When I first saw it, it was at the stop at Queen Anne place, which is a block east of Muirfield road, a rather short block. The ear stopped at Queen Anne place and there were passengers discharged at that point, and then it moved on, and the conductor got off to pull the switch, and then it started moving again; and as it started moving, a young woman appeared at the door and jumped off; and an instant later I saw an elderly woman in the door. She hesitated and then jumped off. The car was moving very slowly at the time that the young lady jumped off. The car was moving at the time that the elderly lady stepped off. It was moving very slowly, between three and five miles an hour. At the time the elderly lady stepped off I think the conductor was up at the switch. I didn’t pay any attention to him because I was watching these two ladies; so I didn’t see the conductor. I do not think that the car had entered the switch at the time the elderly lady .stepped off. I could not see any jerk of the car after the conductor got off.”