Budd v. Salt Lake City R. Co.

• Decision Date: 10 June 1901
• Citation: 23 Utah 515,65 P. 486
• Court: Utah Supreme Court
• Parties: GEO. W. BUDD, Respondent, v. SALT LAKE CITY R. CO., Appellant

65 P. 486

23 Utah 515

GEO. W. BUDD, Respondent, v. SALT LAKE CITY R. CO., Appellant

Supreme Court of Utah

June 10, 1901

Appeal from District Court, Salt Lake County.--Hon. A. N. Cherry Judge.

Action by George H. Budd against the Salt Lake City Railroad Company. From a judgment in favor of the plaintiff, and an order overruling a motion for a new trial, defendant appeals.

AFFIRMED.

Messrs Pierce, Critchlow & Barrette for appellant.

Messrs Ferguson, Cannon & Tanner for respondent.

BARTCH, J. Miner, C. J., and Baskin, J., concur.

OPINION

BARTCH, J.

The plaintiff brought this action to recover damages for personal injuries which he claims he received through the negligence of the defendant. He alleges in his complaint, substantially that on July 25, 1900, while he was traveling on one of defendant's street cars as a passenger, on a certain street in Salt Lake City, the car on which he was riding collided with another through the negligent and careless management of the company's servants; that by the collision he was thrown from his seat, and struck with his back against the car, and was thereby bruised, wounded, and injured, so that he became sick and sore internally and disabled permanently; and that ever since he has been, and for a long time to come will be, unable to attend to his business. In its answer the defendant admitted the collision, that the same was caused by the negligence and carelessness of its servants in managing the cars, and that the plaintiff was at the time a passenger on the car, but denied that he was injured by the collision. Under the pleadings the main issue was simply as to whether or not the plaintiff was injured, and, if so, to what extent, because of the collision. As to this issue, the plaintiff, at the trial, among other things, testified, in substance, that he was sitting on a seat in the car at the left of the motorman; that when the cars collided he was thrown from his seat, and struck with the small of his back against the upper edge of the motor box with such force that it threw him back over the seat on which he had been sitting; that he then went home; that he suffered that night from injuries he had received at the time of the accident, and has continued to suffer ever since; that he feels a numbness in his back and up his spine, has pains through his body, his legs, and shoulders, suffers with headache, feels a dizziness, seems to have black specks floating before his eyes, has lost his appetite, is unable to sleep, and is generally sick; that prior to the accident he was well and hearty, and could work every day, but since then he has been unable to work, and when he does work he soon becomes exhausted and has to quit; that just before the injury he weighed 147 pounds, but shortly after only 125; that up to that time, and since he was a boy nine or ten years old, his health was always good, and he had no occasion to consult a physician concerning his personal health; and that he had none of his present ailments before the accident. In many important particulars the above testimony is corroborated by that of other witnesses, and the record contains other evidence of a similar character, from which it also appears that his back was considerably bruised. The witness Anderson, a physician, who examined the injured, in part testified: "On examination of the body, I found over the back superficial bruises which were beginning to disappear. On pressure, however, over the spinal column, I found tenderness over the upper dorsal and lower lumbar regions. His facial expression, as he came in, showed a careworn, melancholy appearance. He sat down in a stiff posture, resting his arms to support himself, all of which had a certain degree of significance. The examination of the eyes showed a considerable diminution of the field of vision. The knee jerks were not equal--one was greater than the other. On testing the sensation, I found over his back certain areas where he could not distinguish the difference between the head and the point of a pin, given a moderate pressure. In regard to the circulation, I found that extremely sensitive to fatigue. Having him walk to the bottom of my steps and back, about twenty steps, would almost double the pulse rate. He would come back freely perspiring, something which would not happen to any ordinary man. These, with certain subjective symptoms which I was able to elicit, constituted my examination. The examination of the heart showed no abnormal symptoms. The examination of the urine showed no kidney disease. The examination of the stomach's contents at a later time showed the stomach to have the usual ferments and acids. By pressure over the tender areas of the spine, the pulse rate could be markedly increased." In conflict with a part of the foregoing testimony is some introduced by the defendant, principally that of the witness Oglesby, to the effect that the plaintiff was afflicted with his present ailments, and which constituted the injuries complained of, before the...