Binns v. Blake

• Decision Date: 04 January 1935
• Citation: 289 Mass. 70,193 N.E. 550
• Parties: BINNS v. BLAKE.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

289 Mass. 70

193 N.E. 550

BINNS v. BLAKE.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk.

January 4, 1935

Exceptions from Superior Court, Suffolk County; F. T Hammond, Judge.

Action of tort by Edgar G. Binns, administrator, against Samuel Blake to recover compensation for the conscious suffering and death of plaintiff's intestate. Verdicts for plaintiff in the sums of $1,500 and $3,570.87 for conscious suffering and death, respectively, and defendant brings exceptions.

Exceptions overruled.

A. V. Harper, of Boston, for plaintiff.

T. H Mahony, of Boston, for defendant.

RUGG Chief Justice.

This is an action of tort to recover compensation for the conscious suffering and death of the plaintiff's intestate. There was evidence tending to show that on September 17, 1933, the intestate, about seventy years of age, while crossing a street on foot in the exercise of due care, was struck by the negligently operated automobile of the defendant. The intestate received injuries consisting of four broken right ribs, compound fracture of the right lower leg, an area of the tibia one inch long protruding from the wound, and multiple contusions and abrasions. He was taken to a hospital at once, where he received surgical treatment under ether and constant medical attention, and on October 1 developed pneumonia and died on October 2, 1933. The medical examiner who performed the autopsy and inspected the hospital record testified that, in his opinion, because of pneumonia sharply focused in the lower lobe of the right lung in relation to fractures of four ribs on the right side, two of which bent inwardly and pressed against the lower right lung, the intestate died as a result of broncho pneumonia in conjunction with broken ribs and other injuries sustained through the accident; that the fractured ribs led to injury and irritation of the overlying lung and that lung process was responsible for the death; that broncho pneumonia is a germ disease; that the germ might have been there at the time of the accident or might have entered the body after the accident; that it was impossible to determine exactly when the pneumonia developed ‘ except the general age of the process in the lung’ ; that he could not say that the deceased had not developed pneumonia in connection with ether; that in his opinion the broncho pneumonia started with the accident and continued as a low grade process and reached its maximum...