Laubheim v. Netherland S.S. Co.

CourtNew York Court of Appeals
Citation13 N.E. 781,107 N.Y. 228
PartiesLAUBHEIM v. NETHERLAND S. S. CO.
Decision Date18 October 1887

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Appeal from general term, superior court, city of New York.

Action for personal injuries.

Plaintiff took passage on the steam-ship Stella, belonging to the defendant company, and during the passage slipped upon the deck, and injured her knee. The surgeon employed by the defendant company took charge of the plaintiff, and operated upon the injured part. Upon the trial both plaintiff and defendant introduced expert evidence as to the treatment administered. From the evidence given by highly competent authority on both sides, it appeared that some physicians would recommend the course of treatment pursued, while others would consider it dangerous. No negligence upon the part of the company in selecting the surgeon was shown, and the action was dismissed by the trial judge.

A. Blumenstiel, for appellant.

S. W. Rosendale, for respondent.

FINCH, J.

It is not necessary in this case to determine whether, at the date of the accident to the plaintiff, the steam-ship company owed a duty to its passengers to provide a surgeon for their care and safety in the emergency of sickness or accident, or whether, having voluntarily assumed that duty, its position became identical with that of a carrier bound by law to furnish such an officer, since either proposition may be granted without involving error in the judgment rendered.

If, by law or by choice, the defendant was bound to provide a surgeon for its ships, its duty to the passenger was to select a reasonably competent man for that office, and it is liable only for a neglect of that duty. Chapman v. Railway Co., 55 N. Y. 579;McDonald v. Hospital, 120 Mass. 432;Secord v. Railway Co., 18 Fed. Rep. 221. It is responsible solely for its own negligence, and not for that of the surgeon employed. In performing such duty, it is bound only to the exercise of reasonable care and diligence, and is not compelled to select and employ the highest skill and longest experience. There was no evidence in this case that the defendant was careless or negligent in its choice. The surgean selected had been upon the Rotterdam line for three years, and, so far as appears, was reasonably competent for his duty. If in plaintiff's case he erred in his treatment, it does not prove that he was incompetent, or that it was negligence to appoint him. This case shows that one doctor of high reputation may deem it unwise ever...

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53 cases
  • Barden v. Atlantic Coast Line Ry. Co.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of North Carolina
    • April 13, 1910
    ......46,. 13 So. 638; McDonald v. Hospital, 120 Mass. 432, 21. Am. Rep. 529; Laubheim v. N. S. Co., 107 N.Y. 228,. 13 N.E. 781, 1 Am. St. Rep. 815; Allan v. S. S. Co., . 132 N.Y. ......
  • Mack v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., 1-04-2168.
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Illinois
    • November 28, 2005
    ...O'Brien v. Cunard Steamship Co., 154 Mass. 272, 28 N.E. 266, 267 (1891); Laubheim v. De Koninglyke Neder Landsche Stoomboot Maatschappy, 107 N.Y. 228, 13 N.E. 781 The Barbetta court articulated the "two justifications" for the age-old rule: "The first justification emphasizes the nature of ......
  • Carnival Corp. v. Carlisle
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • February 15, 2007
    ...any duty under the common law would be no greater than that under the statute. Id. at 267. Citing to Laubheim v. Netherland Steamship Co., 107 N.Y. 228, 13 N.E. 781 (1887), as support for its holding under the statute, the O'Brien court concluded that it was unreasonable to hold the ship ow......
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    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Arkansas
    • December 10, 1905
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